Desperate Networks
Written by Bill Carter
Narrated by Dean Olsher
3.5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
In a time of sweeping media change, the four major networks struggle for the attention of American viewers increasingly distracted by cable, video games, and the Internet. Behind boardroom doors, tempers flare in the search for hit shows, which often get on the air purely by accident.
The fierce competition creates a pressure-cooker environment where anything can happen . . .
NBC's fall from grace-Once the undisputed king of prime time, NBC plunged from first place to last place in the ratings in the course of a single season. What will be the price of that collapse-and who will pay it?
CBS's slow and steady race to the top-Unlike NBC, CBS, under the leadership of CEO, Leslie Moonves, engineered one of the most spectacular turnarounds in television history. But in this ruthless world, you're only as good as last week's ratings . . . .
ABC's surprising resurrection-Lost and Desperate Housewives-have brought ABC the kind of success it could only dream of in the past. So why don't the executives responsible for those hits work there any more?
The End of the News As We Know It-In a stunningly short period of time, all three of the major network news anchors-Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, and Peter Jennings-signed off, leaving executives scrambling for a way to keep network news relevant in an era of 24/7 information.
Crazy Like Fox-They're outrageous, unconventional, and occasionally off-putting, but more and more people are watching Fox shows. Most of all they keep watching American Idol. How did Simon Cowell snooker himself into a huge payday? Stay tuned . . .
Bill Carter
Bill Carter is the author of Red Summer: The Danger, Madness, and Exaltation of Salmon Fishing in a Remote Alaskan Village; Boom, Bust, Boom: A Story About Copper, the Metal that Runs the World; and Fools Rush In: A True Story of Love, War, and Redemption. He is also the director of Miss Sarajevo, an award-winning documentary produced by Bono. He has written for Rolling Stone, Outside, Men’s Journal, and other publications. He lives with his family in southern Arizona.
More audiobooks from Bill Carter
Brain Training Mastery: The Secret Strategies to Improve your Memory and Train your Brain to Get the Best Results Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMental Models: Control Your Life with Powerful Strategies, changing ideas and improving your decision-making skills Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Late Shift: Letterman, Leno, & the Network Battle for the Night Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to Desperate Networks
Related audiobooks
The Big Show: Inside ESPN's Sportscenter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Game of Edges: The Analytics Revolution and the Future of Professional Sports Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5BBC: Brainwashing Britain Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5When the News Broke: Chicago 1968 and the Polarizing of America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTwin Bill Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBinge Times: Inside Hollywood's Furious Billion-Dollar Battle to Take Down Netflix Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Media: Journalism in Crisis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5NFL Brawler: A Player-turned-agent's Forty Years in the Bloody Trenches of the National Football League Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5From Hang Time to Prime Time: Business, Entertainment, and the Birth of the Modern-Day NBA Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cable Cowboy: John Malone and the Rise of the Modern Cable Business Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fifty Years of 60 Minutes: The Inside Story of Television's Most Influential News Broadcast Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCowards: What Politicians, Radicals, and the Media Refuse to Say Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ten Innings at Wrigley: The Wildest Ballgame Ever, with Baseball on the Brink Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unlocking Creativity: How to Solve Any Problem and Make the Best Decisions by Shifting Creative Mindsets Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The World's Biggest Cash Machine: Manchester United, the Glazers, and the Struggle for Football's Soul Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsElectric October: Seven World Series Games, Six Lives, Five Minutes of Fame That Lasted Forever Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Too Big to Ignore: The Business Case for Big Data Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Retro Active Television: An In-Depth Perspective on Classic TV's Social Circuitry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDual Transformation: How to Reposition Today's Business While Creating the Future Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Axed: Who Killed Australian Magazines? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHistory by HBO: Televising the American Past Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDear Chairman: Boardroom Battles and the Rise of Shareholder Activism Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Best Game Ever: Giants vs. Colts, 1958, and the Birth of the Modern NFL Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Face the Nation: My Favorite Stories from the First 50 Years of the Award-Winning News Broadcast Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Power of Sports: Media and Spectacle in American Culture Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMemories from the Microphone: A Century of Baseball Broadcasting Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/51962: Baseball and America in the Time of JFK Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Helluva Life in Hockey: A Memoir Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Performing Arts For You
Birth of The Endless Summer: A Surf Odyssey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Midsummer Night's Dream: Fully Dramatized Audio Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Romeo and Juliet: The Fully Dramatized Audio Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Swingtime for Hitler: Goebbels’s Jazzmen, Tokyo Rose, and Propaganda That Carries a Tune Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hamlet: Fully Dramatized Audio Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Being Henry: The Fonz . . . and Beyond Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Grapes of Wrath Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bel Canto Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Create: Tools from Seriously Talented People to Unleash Your Creative Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Is this Anything? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pure Drivel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Julius Caesar: A Fully-Dramatized Audio Production From Folger Theatre Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dying of Politeness: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Still Foolin' 'Em: Where I've Been, Where I'm Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys? Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Power of Myth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Science of Storytelling Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Save the Cat! Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Frankenstein (dramatic reading) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gielgud's Hamlet: (Dramatized) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Life in Parts Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Jim Gaffigan: Quality Time Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Elizabeth Taylor: The Grit & Glamour of an Icon Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Desperate Networks
32 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When it comes to books about media, it's rare to find something where so much of the content comes from such high levels (think network presidents.) Unfortunately, with a focus on so many figures, the book often reads like a TV show with too many plot threads: a lot of the time it's hard to follow individual narratives. Still, the book is a must-read for anyone interested in the network goings on of television from 1994 to 2005.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Still Bill Carter which means picture perfect reporting and a narrative you can't put down. Problem here are there are too many characters and no clear beginning or ending to the story so its structure is a bit of a shapeless mess and ends like the cord being yanked out of the outlet. It's not as good as his two books about late night TV but still the work of one of the best minds writing about television today.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The world of TV is a cutthroat industry no matter how you look at it. Desperate Networks by Bill Carter explores this industry at a time when it's being upended by the ceaseless internet revolution. It's more than cutthroat, it's a disruptive madness. And only the strong and lucky will survive.