By John Koblin
Leslie Moonves had a strong idea of what a network television program should be. He liked his sitcoms broad, with larger-than-life characters and big laughs. The dramas he selected featured protagonists who scored a win before the credits rolled.
Unlike the more nuanced shows that formed television’s second golden age — “The Sopranos,” “The Wire,” “Breaking Bad” — the programs backed by Mr. Moonves during his years at CBS depended on clear-cut villains and heroes.
Following that formula, he took CBS from last place in the ratings to the most-watched network. In the process, he made himself into perhaps the most powerful television executive of the last two decades.
On Sunday night, his 23-year run at CBS came to a sudden end.
While a boardroom fight challenged Mr. Moonves’s hold on the company this year, his undoing was mainly the result of two articles in The New Yorker that included allegations of sexual misconduct made against him by 12 women. Written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Ronan Farrow, the articles presented a portrait of an executive whose public persona was profoundly at odds with the predator he became in private, according to his accusers.
For more read the full of article at The Nytimes
