Neal Shapiro to step into the dark hole of public television

Former NBC news Chief Neal Shapiro is headed to one of the dinosaurs of the broadcasting industry WNET, Channel 13. We have no idea what if at all Mr. Shapiro will do to fluff up the network but this would be considered a step backwards by many in the media industry. At least when Mel Karmazin took his step backwards he landed somewhere cool. The decision to choose a candidate from commercial television — and one with experience in programming, not fund-raising — reflects the reality of the intense, fast-changing competition that public broadcasting faces. “At the end of the day, it’s programming that really maintains our viewership and our membership,” said James S. Tisch, the president and chief executive of Loews Corporation, and the chairman of the board of trustees of Educational Broadcasting, which also includes WLIW, Channel 21. Changes in Top Leadership Are Expected at Channel 13 [NYT]