Behind the Control Room

Television doesn't happen by accident. Every broadcast, every live show, every channel launch depends on people working behind the scenes—solving problems under pressure, making decisions no one ever sees, and keeping everything on the air when there is no margin for error. In Behind the Control Room, Howard Bolter takes readers inside a fifty-year career spent building television from the ground up. From his early days working on stages to the launch of cable channels, international networks, and the first wave of streaming platforms, Bolter lived the evolution of the industry from the inside—often in moments where there was no script and no second take. Along the way, he worked with network personalities, studio veterans, and executives shaping the future of television, navigating live broadcasts, technical failures, and high-stakes decisions that rarely make it on screen. This is not a celebrity memoir. It's the story of the people who actually make television work. Through firsthand accounts of live productions, unexpected career turns, industry inflection points, and the quiet leadership required to keep things moving, Behind the Control Room reveals how shows really get made—and how technology, timing, and human judgment shape what millions of viewers ultimately experience. Part memoir, part industry history, this book offers a rare, candid look at television as a craft, a business, and a constantly evolving machine—told by someone who spent decades inside the control rooms, studios, and boardrooms where it all comes together. Whether you work in media, study broadcasting, or have ever wondered what happens off camera when everything is on the line, Behind the Control Room pulls back the curtain on an industry that rarely documents itself—and on a career spent making television work when it mattered most.