4 Page 14 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 9, 1988 Who Killed CBS? By Peter Boyer Random House $18.95/hardcover Prime Times, Bad fTimes 9) Ed Joyce Doubleday $19.95/hardcover "'Whoever put together the dust jackets for Peter Boyer's Who Killed CBS? and Ed Joyce's Prime Times, i't d Times knew what she was doing. Both jackets compare their respective books to last year's highly successful movie, Broadcast News, which confirmed everyone's most cherished stereotypes of broadcast journalists as air-headed egomaniacs for whom journalism is simply a vehicle to success. Boyer and Joyce's accounts of the chaotic history of CBS News in the post-Walter Cronkite era fulfill their promises to give you more dirt than ytu dreamed possible about the once undisputed leader among network TV news divisions. Like Broadcast News, however, the books take on self-righteous tones hypocritical for a couple of guys trying to cash-in on te phenomenon with would-be best 0 r _I e Elizabeth Winthrop, past recipient of the PEN award for short fiction, has written a complex, gripping account of the Webster family. There is Lydia, the matriarch, d' woman before her time, who runs for state legislature during the women's suffrage movement. She attempts to lend her strength to her daughter, Charlotte, and tells her, "You see, it's awfully important for a girl to be strong in life. You, probably won't understand what I" mean for a long time, but one day- you'll remember and be grateful. I want you never to be afraid of anything the way I was as a child. If) you are afraid and you show it,l people can take terrible advantage oft you. Charlotte,however, rebels against her mother's attention. At one point, Charlotte remembers, "inside a little voice of defiance cried: I don't ever want to be like you." Ironically, but not surprisingly, Charlotte treats her daughter, Molly, in much the same way. Winthrop has created true to life relationships that show the delicate intricacies of mother-daugh- ter relationships. She shows the differences between the women through their view of .the family News, novels resemble soaps president of CBS News under Sauter and served as president between Sauter's terms, has a bone to pick and he declares that from the very start. Sure enough, Prime Times, Bad Times is a tattle-tale book that makes it difficult to decide who you dislike more - the seemingly endless list of money-grubbing, Both books offer enough scandal, corporate politicking, and mud-slinging for those who couldn't get enough of Broadcast News (or Network, or The Powers that Be). sellers. The villain of both accounts is yan Sauter, CBS News president in 82-84 and again in 1986. Sauter is per.trayed as an image-conscious wieeler-dealer more concerned about whizz-bang special effects than geeing out the news. He's accused qhselling-out "the house that Wwrrow built" to capture"moments", mire valuable as stimulation than news. The validity of this criticism of Sawter is irrelevent, since the only damative offered is the preservation ofQthe privileges and the pecking cider of the "old boys" network at CBS News. Neither alternative was cwcerned first with journalism. IdBoth books offer enough scandal, dorporate politicking, and mud- a1inging for those who couldn't get qpough of Broadcast News (or Network, or The Powers that Be). Boyer's is preferable over Joyce's, lbiwever, if only because he covers the same material in 200 fewer pages. i>Joyce, who was executive vice back-stabbing characters, or the pious, misunderstood author. Joyce peppers his "personal drama of network television" with flashbacks within flashbacks within flashbacks and page-long biographies of people that receive only passing mention after that. One particularly fascinating theme is the size of Dan Rather's head in relation to the Evening News graphics. While writing of that, Joyce begins talking about CBS czar William Paley's views on the subject, which leads to a flashback to the first time Joyce met Paley, which leads to more musings on Joyce's early career. Eventually you get back to Paley's role in the decision-making process at CBS, and then, at last, to Dan Rather's head -which you have no doubt forgotten entirely as you try to remember who took over as station manager in Los Angeles after Joyce left, the entire corporate structure of CBS Inc., and a morass of other details which serve only to make the book fatter and, thus, more expensive. Whichever reviewer called Prime Times, Bad Times "riveting" was right - reading it is about as pleasant as having a hot metal stud driven through your head with a high-powered tool. Boyer, a New York Times television writer, speeds along and before you know it you have a fairly well-written, straight-forward, well written account of the fall of CBS News. But while Joyce's book is a first- hand memoir, with all the expected one-sidedness, Who Killed CBS?, which claims to be a balanced account, lacks in the research department. That Bob "Deathbed" Woodward called the book "great reporting" is enough to make me doubt its completeness, but kinder readers will not find other discrepancies. Joyce, for instance, is not among those listed as interviewed for Who Killed CBS?, despite his important role during the period. Boyer treats him unsympathetically as an unimportant hatchetman for Sauter. Note also that both books were published about the same time - inevitably, Boyer knew of Joyce's upcoming account which would compete with his own. Boyer also cites a profile of Sauter by Esquire writer Ron Rosenbaum as "particularly valuable". Joyce disputes the article's accuracy, particularly it's portrayal of Sauter role at The CBS Evening News: "(Dan) Rather described the fight in a lineup meeting for the broadcast over which of three stories should be the lead, the Falklands, the Middle East, or Princess Di's baby. The writer had a good ear for a quotable phrase. "'I decided we had to go with the royal baby,' Rather said,'on the back fence principle.' "'We might take some heat on it, but I'd defend it,' Van chimed in his support. "Not once in the past year could I remember Van taking part in an Evening News lineup meeting." Both accounts seem so intent on digging up generous portions of sleeze that, 800 pages later, you still wonder who killed CBS. If you want to know that, don't look here. ' --Robert Earle Then after selling billions of copies, in both hardcover and paperback versions, the rights to the book are sold, and it becomes a TV miniseries so that billions more can experience these epics. ,1 A Leaves of Fortur By Linda Barlow Doubleday $18.95/hardcover In My Mother's By Elizabeth Winthrop Doubleday $19.95/hardcover A glance at the bestse shows that multi-generation by the likes of Danielle St Belva Plain steam t bookstores, with their por princesses, palaces, and p Then after selling billions o in both hardcover and pa versions, the rights to the f sold, and it becomes a TV m so that billions more can ex these epics. Case in point - Lea Fortune by Linda Barlow is with the events that bring in and ultimately viewers. Wh be better for a miniseriest story of the Templeton tea run by the 80-year old matr the family, Minerva Temple the struggle for control beta grandson Travis an granddaughter, Delilah? (Ev 11I ie , names are appropriate for a miniseries.) But that's not all. There's the rags to riches rise of Delilah, from her days as a clerk in a health food store to her success as the head of an herbal tea company. There's the romance of Delilah and Travis who had an affair several years ago ... and they're first cousins ( it turns out that they're even more closely related House- but you won't find that out until about halfway through the book or three days through the miniseries). Finally there's the obligatory love ller list triangle - Nick, Travis' younger ial sagas brother, is also in love with Delilah. eele and Of course the two brothers fight for up the her affection - perfect for the traits of climax of a 12 hour miniseries. anache. Leaves of Fortune is the stuff that f copies, miniseries are made of - and that's perback not saying much. book are From its billing as a saga that iniseries takes the reader "from the perience brownstones of turn-of-the-century New York to the farmlands and ves of tobacco fields of Connecticut," In steeped My Mother's House appears to be readers much like Leaves of Fortune - yet at could another novel of epic proportions than the with torrential romance, tumultuous empire, striving towards success, and a riarch of happy ending. ton, and Unlike Barlow however, veen her d her ven their estate: "For Lydia the house had always? loomed friendly ... she came home ... grateful for its peace and safety." "For Charlotte, the house of her childhood did not 'loom friendly' andt she rarely went in ... " " "Molly came back too. 'Why?' Charlotte asked her daughter once.] 'Why do you keep going back' there?' 'Because it feels like home,"' Molly replied." At one point, Winthrop writes, "In the Webster family, the women's lives were threaded in and out of that white farmhouse in Northington like. the piece of string a bird weaves into its nest." It's this kind of prose that' elevates In My Mother's House" above sappy screenplay commentary.- In My Mother's House is a book that would make a great basis for a miniseries - but unfortunately it's too good for prime time. -Lisa Magnino I 4 N Interested in writing about film, theater, music, books or dance? Join the Daily Arts Staff Call 763-0379 for details I L m 11 -U I_ soft L Set you, phase,, on fun for dde special am presentatIon of rare &. seldom seen Star Trek footagel Set your phawes on fun for this spedW fMm presenton of rare & seldom seen Star Trek fooagel A 2-HOUR TREK * A * THON UTRR TREK 6 d e P ag s . , c WATCH ZENITH'S AWARD-WINNING FLAT TECHNOLOGY MONITOR REVOLUTIONIZE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY LIKE NEVER BEFORE! ZENITH INNOVATES AGAIN! 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