John Malone, Magness' protege and then his business partner, had much to lose from the eclipse of cable television. As Malone sat in the front pew at Magness' funeral, he had no intention of losing much of anything. But Malone and Murdoch were competitors, too, especially in England, where Murdoch's satellite television service cut into TCI's landline cable and telephone services. Murdoch had decided to become more competitor than partner to Malone. To ratchet up the competition, Murdoch chose Charlie Ergen, a relative nobody within the industry who had managed to carve out a nice life as a Colorado transplant.
Most newspaper articles lack beginnings, middles and ends.
Long-form storytelling is not what newspapers are usually about. This book, though, is long-form storytelling done well. It is the forest that gives broader meaning to all the trees Keating planted in The Denver Post. Mo. His book reviews appear in The Denver Post and other newspapers. Reviews will appear on The Denver Post Online.