Brother, can you spare a job in the TV biz?

This Business of Broadcasting, by Leonard Mogel (Billboard Books, 2004, U.S.$ 27.95), aims to serve as a "Comprehensive Guide to the Broadcast Industry for Job Seekers and Working Professionals Alike," according to its sub-title on the cover or, put differently, "A Practical Guide to Jobs & Job Opportunities in the Broadcast Industry," according to its sub-title on the inside cover page. Whichever mission statement one prefers, this book certainly delivers.

Not to say the book is perfect: while it is clear that Mogel tried to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information available, given the monumental task he set for himself, it is no wonder certain inconsistencies and mistakes were included.

For example, Mogel stated that "In 1979, [ABC] presented the groundbreaking 26-hour miniseries Roots." However, the first twelve-hour miniseries actually aired in 1977, while the sequel, Roots: The Next Generations aired in 1979. Mogel went on to say: "That same year ABC kicked off Steven Bochco's NYPD Blue." In reality, that series premiered over a decade later, in 1993.

On page 108, Mogel stated that Without a Trace (which actually bowed in 2002), began the same season as CSI:NY (which began in 2004).

Mogel also included interviews with business professionals who are less than ideal as career models, such as writer/creator Stephen Tolkin. His unimpressive credits include working on the short-lived Delta House--based on the feature film Animal House--and creating failed dramas Kate Brasher and All Souls.

In a section designated for perfect program pitches, Mogel quoted only two professionals: Phyllis Murphy (L.A. Law and Homicide), who said, "For me, the best pitches have been the ones where we make the sale in the room," and Eric Estrin (Miami Vice and Cagney & Lacey), who said that it "helps to have a relationship with the show's executive producers so they'll know you can translate a perfect pitch into a great script." Neither writer gave examples of good and bad pitches and their statements are self-evident. Neither is particularly instructive (or interesting).

Yet the above are merely a few deficiencies one finds among a sea of useful and accurate information. Mogel, the author of eight other media books, founding publisher of several magazines and former adjunct professor of Communications at New York University, successfully covered every aspect of the industry.

The book began with an extremely comprehensive history of television--from the days when TV was barely encroaching on the time the public spent listening to the radio, to the technological advances that put television sets in more and more homes (and made TV the ubiquitous presence it is today), to the satellite-cable-DVR wars currently vying for our subscription dollars.

Following the general history lesson, one finds a detailed chapter on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)--the U.S. regulatory agency that rules television airways. Mogel explained the financial-syndication rules the FCC implemented in 1961 and then repealed with the Communications Act of 1996, which managed to completely change the funding model for television.

Another chapter, "A Short Course in Television Fundamentals," explained the ties that bind and divide networks and production companies. The FCC's 1961 ruling forbid networks from owning their programs, causing independent production companies to spring up and supply the networks with their product. When the FCC changed the rules in 1996, networks were then allowed to produce and own their successes and failures, driving independent production companies out of business. The FCC also forbid duopolies--a single entity owning two (or more) major broadcasters in a single area. The chapter explored how this ruling affected major players, such as Viacom and AOL Time Warner.

In "The Changing World of Television Broadcasting," Mogel went into each of the "big three" (CBS, NBC and ABC) networks' histories; the evolution of Fox, the WB and UPN; and the impact of Paxson Communications (PAX) and the Tribune Broadcasting Company (minority shareholder in the WB and Food Network).

Mogel also explained how Owned & Operated Stations (O&Os) and affiliates work with and against networks--they can choose not to broadcast something they think will get low ratings in their area in favor of something more locally viable, such as a local sporting event--and how these decisions affect advertising and stations' relationship with the network. Mogel also showcased pubcaster PBS and its history.

In "Organizational Structures: Who Does What," Mogel gave job descriptions for every branch of the industry--entertainment, news, sports, sales and marketing, and explained commonly-found network career hierarchies.

In a separate chapter, Mogel highlighted television news and its job structure, discussing each major network's role in broadcast news. He also discussed cable news, the rise of CNN and the competition it faces from the Fox News Channel.

Mogel dedicated a chapter to going "From Pitch to Pilot to the Big Time of Primetime." He discussed the role of networks and cable and the battle for primetime ratings, the evolution of a primetime series,--including pilot pitching, pilot production, the upfronts and the pilot season--and the executives who decide the fate of primetime programming.

Another chapter was dedicated to the programming and advertising of the other "dayparts": early morning (7 to 9 a.m.), daytime (9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), the early fringe (4:30 to 7:30 p.m.), primetime access (7 to 8 p.m.), and late night (11:00 p.m. to 1 a.m.). Mogel went into particular detail in regards to the daytime daypart, focusing on soap operas and the job opportunities available in that arena.

The subject of television sports was given its own chapter, which discussed sporting events' broadcast rights; a history of ratings successes and failures; and a focus on ESPN and the success of its competitor, Fox Sports.

Syndication got its own chapter, which illustrated its benefits for networks in terms of advertising and ratings--mostly that extremely successful first-run series have built-in re-run audiences, thus assuring decent ratings and advertising prices.

New technologies--digital television, DVRs and broadband--were discussed in another chapter, and the future of the television medium was explored.

Part Two of the book dealt solely with radio, investigating many of the same topics as Mogel explored for television, including job opportunities, history, technology and the future.

Throughout the book, Mogel provided career tips, inserted short interviews with professionals and cited sources for exploring topics further, such as trade papers and network Internet sites for job opportunities.

Mogel managed to strip television of its fanfare and tinsel-town exterior and show it to prospective and starting-out workers for what it is: a business.

The book is not concerned with the creative or the entertainment side of the industry, nor with the social impact of television; it doesn't claim to be. Because of this honesty, the book comes off neither as crude nor heartless, and neither does this business of broadcasting.