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The House That Roone Built: The Inside Story of ABC News
Twenty years ago, ABC News was the laughingstock of broadcast journalism, trailing in the network ratings at a distant third. ABC lacked the reputation, the resources, and most important, the star power of its competitors on Broadcast Row.
Roone Arledge, president of ABC News since 1977, changed all that. With acuity and determination, Arledge turned ABC News into a world-class news organization. Now a powerful empire, ABC News is number one in the ratings. Their slogan just happens to be true: more Americans get their news from ABC than from any other source. That makes Arledge the most powerful media executive in the country. The House That Roone Built tells for the first time the dramatic story of this meteoric rise, and reveals, in all his complexity, the brilliant media pioneer who not only had his finger on the pulse of public demand but created the pulse itself.
It provides the view behind the camera of how Roone remade a news organization, creating bold new ways of presenting the news - with programs like "Nightline," "20/20," "This Week with David Brinkley," and "PrimeTime Live" - and assembling a galaxy of stars that is now unrivaled in the industry.
Peter Jennings, Ted Koppel, Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer, Sam Donaldson, Geraldo Rivera, Hugh Downs - learn how Arledge played them like pieces in a chess game, shrewdly mollifying insecurities, indulging vanities, and surmounting rivalries and clashes of power.
Packed with fascinating anecdotes and revealing psychological profiles of those whose appearances we know so well, The House That Roone Built also explores controversial issues in television news - the dangers of the star system, the unending ratings pressures, and the impact of cost-conscious corporate owners.
It is a probing account of the creation of a media powerhouse, and a compelling look at how television journalism has evolved in recent times, how its role has changed from "serving the public" to "playing the crowd," and how television, no longer just the documenter of history, has become its very maker.
Roone Arledge, president of ABC News since 1977, changed all that. With acuity and determination, Arledge turned ABC News into a world-class news organization. Now a powerful empire, ABC News is number one in the ratings. Their slogan just happens to be true: more Americans get their news from ABC than from any other source. That makes Arledge the most powerful media executive in the country. The House That Roone Built tells for the first time the dramatic story of this meteoric rise, and reveals, in all his complexity, the brilliant media pioneer who not only had his finger on the pulse of public demand but created the pulse itself.
It provides the view behind the camera of how Roone remade a news organization, creating bold new ways of presenting the news - with programs like "Nightline," "20/20," "This Week with David Brinkley," and "PrimeTime Live" - and assembling a galaxy of stars that is now unrivaled in the industry.
Peter Jennings, Ted Koppel, Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer, Sam Donaldson, Geraldo Rivera, Hugh Downs - learn how Arledge played them like pieces in a chess game, shrewdly mollifying insecurities, indulging vanities, and surmounting rivalries and clashes of power.
Packed with fascinating anecdotes and revealing psychological profiles of those whose appearances we know so well, The House That Roone Built also explores controversial issues in television news - the dangers of the star system, the unending ratings pressures, and the impact of cost-conscious corporate owners.
It is a probing account of the creation of a media powerhouse, and a compelling look at how television journalism has evolved in recent times, how its role has changed from "serving the public" to "playing the crowd," and how television, no longer just the documenter of history, has become its very maker.
- GenresHistory
381 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1994
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December 29, 2025
Any history of major network news should be broken into two eras: "Before OJ" and "After OJ." The Simpson case completely changed the way news was reported as well as the way it was watched by the public. This book was written in 1994, shortly before all the OJ stuff happened and at the time when ABC News was the leader and it's trademark: "More Americans get their news from ABC than from any other source." The person responsible for that, Roone Arledge was the primary subject of this book, and it was an interesting look at how the sausage is made for major network news.
In the mid 1970's, ABC was a struggling network, they had no major television presence, no recognizable face like CBS had with Walter Cronkite or NBC had with David Brinkley. At that time, Roone Arledge was the director of ABC Sports and he was a visionary, what he did during the tragic Munich Olympics in 1972, as well as groundbreaking things like "Wide World of Sports," "The Professional Bowlers Tour," and a little thing called "Monday Night Football" where he put three guys in the booth, Frank Gifford, "Dandy" Don Meredith and Howard Cossell and made ABC Sports the juggernaut it is today.
The ABC execs brought Arledge in to rebuild their flailing news division and although it took time, his ideas eventually bore fruit, his visionary ideas made ABC News the first network news a lot of people in my age group watched and became familiar with. Arledge created shows like "20/20," "Nightline" and "PrimeTime Live" and in turn, made household names out of people like Cossell, Geraldo Rivera, Sam Donaldson, Ted Koppel, Barbara Walters and Peter Jennings, using their passions for reporting news, as well as their egos to cater to them and make them stars.
As is always the case, egos and insecurities took control and Arledge, an insecure egomaniac in his own right, would throw money at problems to keep his people happy, but it bred a lot of contempt, competition and backstabbing, and Arledge, who was famous for not returning calls and skipping out on meetings never fully wanted to deal with these internal issues, instead choosing to sweep them under the rug and let time fix everything. Arledge, however, was also one of those bosses who would take all of the credit for good things and deflect blame when it was bad. He viewed himself as a diety figure in major network news and it would lead to his downfall once ABC was purchased by the Capital Cities Group and he refused to report to anyone.
This book itself is a "B," very good and thoroughly written. This author does a great job with how each program worked, including some of the major stories that defined each one. It was also extremely interesting to see how some of these people were just as insecure as a lot of us normal people can be, and what they are capable of in order to get what they want.
Good book, recommend if you enjoy the subject matter.
In the mid 1970's, ABC was a struggling network, they had no major television presence, no recognizable face like CBS had with Walter Cronkite or NBC had with David Brinkley. At that time, Roone Arledge was the director of ABC Sports and he was a visionary, what he did during the tragic Munich Olympics in 1972, as well as groundbreaking things like "Wide World of Sports," "The Professional Bowlers Tour," and a little thing called "Monday Night Football" where he put three guys in the booth, Frank Gifford, "Dandy" Don Meredith and Howard Cossell and made ABC Sports the juggernaut it is today.
The ABC execs brought Arledge in to rebuild their flailing news division and although it took time, his ideas eventually bore fruit, his visionary ideas made ABC News the first network news a lot of people in my age group watched and became familiar with. Arledge created shows like "20/20," "Nightline" and "PrimeTime Live" and in turn, made household names out of people like Cossell, Geraldo Rivera, Sam Donaldson, Ted Koppel, Barbara Walters and Peter Jennings, using their passions for reporting news, as well as their egos to cater to them and make them stars.
As is always the case, egos and insecurities took control and Arledge, an insecure egomaniac in his own right, would throw money at problems to keep his people happy, but it bred a lot of contempt, competition and backstabbing, and Arledge, who was famous for not returning calls and skipping out on meetings never fully wanted to deal with these internal issues, instead choosing to sweep them under the rug and let time fix everything. Arledge, however, was also one of those bosses who would take all of the credit for good things and deflect blame when it was bad. He viewed himself as a diety figure in major network news and it would lead to his downfall once ABC was purchased by the Capital Cities Group and he refused to report to anyone.
This book itself is a "B," very good and thoroughly written. This author does a great job with how each program worked, including some of the major stories that defined each one. It was also extremely interesting to see how some of these people were just as insecure as a lot of us normal people can be, and what they are capable of in order to get what they want.
Good book, recommend if you enjoy the subject matter.
Displaying 1 of 1 review