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THE MEDIA BUSINESS
THE MEDIA BUSINESS; CBS Fills President's Post At Entertainment Division
CBS named Nancy Tellem president of the network's entertainment division yesterday, the position vacated in April by her longtime associate, Leslie Moonves, who is now the chief executive of CBS Television.
Ms. Tellem becomes the second woman to head a network entertainment division. Jamie Tarses is president of ABC Entertainment.
Ms. Tellem had previously headed both CBS's Business Affairs office and its in-house production company. In both positions she worked closely with Mr. Moonves, and will continue to report to him in her new position.
''I think Leslie and I complement each other with respect to our talents,'' she said. ''We've always taken a team approach, and we'll continue to do so.''
Ms. Tellem will be in charge of day-to-day operations of CBS Entertainment, but Mr. Moonves, who has led the department since 1995, will remain involved, he said yesterday, with ''all the biggest deals we make.''
He said that might mean anything from a contract with a big star to the negotiations for a package of feature films. But Mr. Moonves said he would now be free to concentrate more on the other divisions he heads, including CBS News and CBS Sports.
''Nancy has a great business background and she is an exceptional manager of people,'' he said.
He noted that the entertainment side of the business remained his first love and for that reason -- and the fact that he is the only chief executive of a television network based on the West Coast -- he would maintain an active role in CBS's entertainment decisions, such as which shows are programmed and how they are scheduled.
Underscoring that point, Mr. Moonves made a series of other personnel moves yesterday in conjunction with promoting Ms. Tellem. For example, Kelly Kahl, the executive in charge of program scheduling for the network, was promoted to senior vice president and will continue to report to Mr. Moonves. Chris Ender, the head of publicity for CBS in Los Angeles, was also promoted to senior vice president and he also will continue to report to Mr. Moonves.
Mr. Moonves also promoted to senior vice president the department heads of comedy and drama development, Gene Stein and Nina Tassler; the head of the movie department, Sunta Izzicupo; the head of casting, Peter Golden; the head of current programs, Terry Botwick, and the head of East Coast Entertainment, Mitch Semel.
All those executives will report to Ms. Tellem.
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