Contact: Catherine Walsh, cwalsh@hbs.edu (617) 495-6391
Harvard Business School Communications
Andrew Heyward, President of CBS News, Speaks at Harvard Business School
BOSTON -- "Television will be changed forever because power is increasingly in the hands of viewers," whether they wield a good old remote control clicker or a brand new TiVo, said Andrew Heyward, president of CBS News, in a talk sponsored by the Entertainment and Media Club on January 26. Accompanied by Betsy L. Morgan (MBA '95) a vice president of CBS News who oversees the station's Web programming, Heyward offered a wide-ranging analysis of the sea changes that have swept over the television industry in the past two decades with the coming of cable, the creation of numerous niche markets, and the corporate buyouts of the three major networks.
As CBS and other networks grapple to reach young viewers with innovative programs and technologies, the evening news broadcasts on the original three networks remain forces to be reckoned with. "In an era of fragmentation," said Heyward, "more people still tune into these newscasts each night than watch the entire weekly schedules of CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, and Fox."