Beyond Control: ABC and the Fate of the Networks

This is a capsule history of the three major broadcast networks with an emphasis on the rise and fall of ABC-TV. Williams, who worked for the ``third network'' in the early '80s and is now the editor of the quarterly Gannett Center Journal , tells a stunning, credible tale of corporate mismanagement at ABC-TV: money lavishly spent, sexual exploitation of female workers, managers become a snarling wolf pack. The situation, he claims, was in sharp contrast to the era when ABC-TV battled its way to the top of the ratings under the direction of Leonard Goldenson, who parlayed a small investment into an empire. Williams suggests in this significant contribution to media history that all three networks changed hands in the past decade because of comparable failings. Photos not seen by PW. (Oct.)