Lawrence Grossman

Lawrence K. Grossman, a former advertising executive, transformed PBS over eight years. Despite his initial reluctance to spend the required money, PBS became the first broadcast network to deliver its programming by satellite. He expanded the influence of the MacNeil/Lehrer program by lengthening it to an hour, from a half-hour, and started the "Frontline" documentary series as well as the 13-part series "Vietnam: A Television History" (1981). He created a sense in PBS that they were doing important work, and it caused PBS to stand up straighter. It was enormously important to how PBS conducted itself thereafter. In 1983 Dispite his lack of a journalism background Grant Tinker, the chairman of NBC hired him. Stating they have an awful lot of people who have a lot of experience in news, they were hiring a man in whom they had great faith. Grossman's mandate was not to make NBC News first in the ratings, but to build an organization of which we can all be proud. He hired Tim Russert who became one of NBC News's top on-air personalities as the moderator of "Meet the Press". And he had some successes, including "Today's" return as ratings leader among morning news programs and an increased regard for "NBC Nightly News," which had risen to No. 1 in the ratings in 1987 before falling to third place.