Vanguard Awards : Doug Herzog

President and CEO, MTV Networks Entertainment Group

By Stuart Miller -- Multichannel News, 6/13/2011 12:01:00 AM

Not many people in the television industry know this, or would believe it, but according to scrupulous research cable television actually existed before Doug Herzog … briefly, anyway.

For most of the last three decades, though, Herzog and cable have been nearly inseparable.

Now the president and CEO for MTV Networks Entertainment Group, Herzog began his career as an associate producer in 1981 both at TBS and a little start-up news organization called CNN.

He left for Entertainment Tonight but found his true calling in 1984 at another fledgling cable programmer, MTV: Music Television.

Herzog was hired as news director, but climbed just about every rung on the network ladder, soon heading programming and development and then serving as president of MTV Productions in an era when the network was introducing such shows as the MTV Video Music Awards, The Real World and MTV Unplugged.

WHIRLWIND MEDIA TOUR

Later, Herzog was tapped as president of Viacom coowned Comedy Central, from 1995 to 1998 (an era that brought viewers South Park, Win Ben Stein’s Money and Strangers With Candy).

After leaving cable to become president of Fox Broadcasting for three years, he returned to the medium in 2001, becoming president of USA Network. Finally, in 2004, he truly came home again, to Viacom, where he rules over Comedy Central, Spike TV and TV Land as well as an array of Internet sites.

Herzog said the multiple responsibilities of his job “fits my ADD lifestyle — I love all those moving pieces.” But he would never use the phrase “rules over.”

Sure, he likes to think of himself as a “creative executive,” and yes, he recently called in a couple of producers to tell them point blank about specific things he wanted fixed on their show.

But for all the insight and input he offers, Herzog is known for his willingness to trust in the people who work for him.

“He puts people in place and lets them do their job,” South Park executive producer Anne Garefino said. While he demands respect and doesn’t shy away from reminding people he’s the boss, “Doug doesn’t micromanage.”

“He sets the vision but then he is hands-off,” added Comedy Central president Michele Ganeless, who has worked for Herzog for much of the last 20 years, and who said working for others made her truly appreciate him. “He lets you run your business.”

“He’s the ultimate idea guy — at least half the time he has the best idea in the room,” Ganeless added. “I marvel at his abilities to have a fresh perspective after all these years. But if I say I have a better idea, he’ll let me try.

“He’s willing to let me fail. He might say ‘I told you so’ after but he wants me to take that risk.”

And, Ganeless said, if you work for Herzog he always has your back. Garefino, whose boundary-breaking show has put Herzog in plenty of difficult situations over the years, agrees, saying he always provides the creative forces a “wide berth.”

“I’ve been through a lot with Doug, and he’s one of the most supportive executives there is,” she said. “He wants to be able to do our shows but he also has to be accountable. He is in the trenches with us and he really gives a damn.”

Herzog, in any conversation about the MTVN Entertainment Group’s success, will frequently defer credit to the network chiefs in his group: Ganeless; TV Land president Larry Jones and Spike TV president Kevin Kay.

While some of Herzog’s deft touch is simply his open and affable personality (“How many people do you know that actually still want to go out to dinner with their boss after 15 years?” Garefino asked), he has also developed a deep understanding of his role over the years.

He learned that while saying “yes” to projects, proposals and requests is more fun, more often he is saying “no” and that there is a right way to do it. “It’s a skill that you learn, saying ‘no’ in a way that’s not insulting, crushing or relationship-ending.”

Most importantly, he realized that it was not the specific project that mattered. “I eventually realized that I was not managing projects, I was managing people and helping the people manage the process. That’s one thing that people underestimate is how important the process is.”

‘A LOT OF BENDING’

Herzog said he has learned there is no one-size-fits-all approach to managing.

“I try to be efficient in how each division or network operates, but you can’t overlook the idiosyncrasies and subcultures of each network, each department and even each show,” he said. “I’d like them all to fit but you have to be able to bend — there is a lot of bending to manage the process. That’s the job.”

His one bit of immodesty is to acknowledge that he is a good judge of character, which has helped him build staffs he can trust.

Part of that, he said, comes from understanding the importance of “team dynamics” in creating a “collegial, not a political” work environment.

“It’s like baseball, where you want clubhouse guys who are good team players,” he said, as opposed to, say, someone who is incredibly talented but also obnoxious and selfish (to follow the baseball analogy, think Barry Bonds).

“I think hard about that stuff. The office is like your second family. Beyond their skills, you want to find the right people.”