As the annual fade-in of the fall television season begins, ABC under the guidance of its programming czar Fred Silvermanis the network to beat in the deadly serious game of prime-time ratings. Our cover story this week, written by Show Business Writer Gerald Clarke and edited by Senior Editor Martha Duffy, traces how TV's perennial No. 3 network overtook and passed its larger rivals, and examines the television industry today.
Writer Clarke has been a fascinated observer of that industry and its products for most of their existence. "When I was a kid growing up in Los Angeles, the whole family would...