A Cut Above the Ordinary

Only three months ago, Laurence Tisch, 63, was being toasted as a hero at the Manhattan headquarters of powerful CBS. The billionaire chairman of Loews had suddenly emerged, to resounding cheers, as the No. 2 network's acting chief executive officer, after a dramatic boardroom confrontation with Ousted Chairman Thomas Wyman, 57. Many CBS employees hoped that the changeover, which also brought back Network Founder William Paley, 85, as acting chairman, would mark the onset of a new golden age for the tradition-minded broadcasting giant and the end of months of upheaval and austerity. CBS, exulted 60 Minutes Correspondent Morley Safer, was...