onetime top programming executive at Fox

It's not easy being a network executive these days. Consider the challenges: While NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox continue to siphon upwards of 60 percent of the television advertising dollars and to attract the biggest audiences, broadcast revenues are down an estimated 9 percent this year and may never be what they once were. Competition, meanwhile, is everywhere. The cable guys are making some of the most popular shows on TV and are pressing for an increasing share of advertising dollars as companies target the kind of audience niches in which the likes of AMC, TNT, and Bravo specialize.