CBS Sports President David Kenin and Senior VP Rick Gentile
named Lance Barrow Coordinating Producer, CBS Sports, Golf,
beginning in '97. Barrow joined CBS Sports in '75 and has served
as producer for the network's coverage of PGA, LPGA and Senior
PGA Tour Events. He succeeds Frank Chirkinian, who has been
named Special Consultant and Senior Executive, CBS Sports, Golf.
Chirkinian will consult on strategy, sales, editorial, future
rights deals, home video and special projects. Also, Chuck Will
was appointed Senior Associate Producer, CBS Golf (CBS Sports).
In New York, Richard Sandomir calls Chirkinian, "the cantankerous
producer-director who virtually invented televised golf coverage
over the past four decades." Sandomir: "CBS painted the new role
as one that will keep him active, but Chirkinian indicated that
he expected to play a lot of golf and be a little bored" (N.Y.
TIMES, 10/29). Chirkinian has three years left on his $1M annual
deal (USA TODAY, 10/29).
GOLFWEEK SURVEYS: NBC's Johnny Miller was a "landslide"
winner as the favorite golf announcer and CBS was the most
popular network in a GOLFWEEK survey conducted earlier this year,
according to Dave Shedloski of GOLFWEEK. Miller finished ahead
of CBS announcers Gary McCord, Ken Venturi and Jim Nantz, who
finished 2-3-4 in the voting, respectively. CBS outdistanced
runner-up NBC and third-place finisher ESPN (GOLFWEEK, 10/26
issue).
