The Senior Executive Producer
Ask Steve Friedman, senior executive producer of The Early Show, what his title means and he'll tick off just a few of his duties.
He was brought in, he says, "to build the building, cast the show, sell it to the affiliates, sell it to the sponsors and reintegrate the two hours for the CBS audience."
He also plans to make good use of the Internet.
"I think that people [in the TV business] use the Internet the wrong way," Friedman explains.
"[They] feel that TV's job is to drive people to the 'Net. And what I want to do is use the Internet to drive people to television," he adds.
"Our hope is that we would [interest] people in the Internet through watching the show," he says. "For our Internet audience, we're going to try to [offer] more than what is on the television."
For instance, an on-air interview with author John Grisham on The Early Show might be followed by an online chat session after the broadcast.
As for Friedman's job title, he quips that it's probably simply justification "to pay me the exorbitant salary they're paying me."
It also might have something to do with his record of success in the production of morning television programs.
Friedman's long career in television news and production began at NBC's morning program, Today, where he served as executive producer from 1979 to 1987. At that time, he was credited with resurrecting the morning format and moving the program into the No. 1 position.
Friedman returned to Today and, once again, raised the broadcast to top ratings levels. He also realized his dream to build a street-level studio on 49th Street in midtown Manhattan, which has since become a major tourist attraction.
It is impossible to review his involvement with Today without mentioning his longtime professional alliance with Bryant Gumbel, the former Today host who will be anchoring The Early Show.
Friedman calls his relationship with Gumbel "a constant evolution."
"We've worked together...this is going to be four decades: the '70s, '80s, '90s, and '00s," he says.
They first got to know each other while working at station KNBC in Los Angeles. "He did sports, and I produced the local news," Friedman recalls.
"So we started out together, and we made it together, and we're going to continue to make it together," he says. "We feel that we're a good teamÂ….I think that it's almost like Astaire and Rogers. I'm not going to tell you which is which."
Friedman says he thinks the combination has worked so well because, "He knows what to expect from me. I know what to expect from him. And we try to help each other in every way possible."
In between his work at Today, Friedman served as the executive producer of the NBC Nightly News (1990-93). In fall 1991, his duties expanded to iclude weekend editions of Nightly News. He also worked as the executive in charge and one of the creators of Dateline NBC.
Since November 1997 Friedman served as vice president and station manager of WCBS-TV New York, responsible for overseeing the news, sports, engineering and promotion departments for the CBS-owned station. During that time, the 5 p.m. newscast finished second in February 1999 for the first time in eight years. In addition, every WCBS-TV newscast has improved in market share since November 1997.
He joined WCBS from Savoy Pictures, where he worked to develop new programming and oversee station operations for its special television unit (1995-97).
The recipient of numerous awards and honors, Friedman won four national Emmy awards and five Emmys from the Los Angeles chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Friedman was born on July 22, 1946, in Chicago. He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1968. Friedman lives in New York.