James H. Rosenfield Sr., the longtime media executive and former executive vice president of CBS Broadcast Group, died on September 26. He was 97.
Rosenfield rose from an account executive in television network sales to President of the CBS Television Network and ultimately Executive Vice President of the CBS Broadcast Group, with responsibility for the network’s key operating divisions, including CBS Television Network, CBS News, CBS Entertainment and CBS Sports.
Early in Rosenfield’s career, William S. Paley gave him responsibility for the network’s sales relationship with Grey Advertising, an assignment that helped propel his rise through CBS.
Of his time as EVP, Rosenfield said, “One of the things that I understood in this business was that there are two [types of] people who exist side by side: creative people and suits. And I was a suit.”
It was that understanding, he said, that allowed him to work with the creatives at CBS, including the man who led CBS Entertainment through most of the 1980s, Bud Grant.
“The creative department wasn’t thrilled that they were reporting to this suit from New York,” recalled Rosenfield. “And I said to [then President of CBS Entertainment] Bud Grant, who I had known for many years, ‘I am not going to interfere with your decision-making process in creating the schedule…You are the creative guy and I am the suit.’”
The result was hit shows like Murder She Wrote and Newhart.
Rosenfield retired from CBS in 1985.
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He went on to become president at JHR associates, where he consulted with traditional and new media companies, including broadcasting, cable, interactive, internet and games.
He also served as president of the International Radio & Television Society (IRTS), chairman and board member of the Advertising Council, and on the boards of Internews International and Salon Media, among others. He was also a lifetime fellow of the International Council of the Television Academy.
Rosenfield is survived by his partner, Charlotte Rosenblatt; his daughter, Laurie Rosenfield, and son-in-law, Peter Falk; his son, Jim Rosenfield Jr., and his wife, Dana Conroy; his grandchildren, Jamie, Kitt, Kristen, Kerrin and Kendall; his five great-grandchildren; his sister-in-law, Clare Rosenfield and his nieces and nephews. He was pre-deceased by his wife of 57 years, Nancy Stenbuck Rosenfield and his brother, Dr. Allan Rosenfield.
A funeral Service will be held at 11am on Wednesday, September 30th at Riverside Memorial Chapel, 180 W 76th St. NY NY. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Rosenfield’s memory to The Reisenbach Philanthropies.