Hit man: McPherson churned out winning shows at Touchstone. Can he rescue ABC?(Top of the Week)

Broadcasting & Cable, April, 2004 by Albiniak, Paige

Steve McPherson is a network samurai--an aggressive, competitive, passionate executive. And he now joins a tiny fraternity, led by Leslie Moonves, CBS chairman and CEO, and Jeff Zucker, NBC Entertainment, News and Cable President. Both define successful network chiefs. Can the new prez of ABC prime time entertainment mirror their achievements? Transforming the fourth-place network will take more than brains and bravado. He'll need authority and autonomy.

What are the odds Michael Eisner and Bob Iger will let him do his job?

Sources say he got assurances from the two Disney powerhouses before accepting the post last week. And McPherson's new boss, Disney Media Networks' Co-Chair Anne Sweeney, swears she has always "endorsed clean, streamlined...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Premium Content Partnership | HighBeam Research provides an in-depth online archive library of reference works.