A media and advertising CEO explains how his world shapes ours

The TV program coming into our living rooms isn't free. It's a simple Faustian bargain consumers have made but one with enormous implications. It means that David Verklin, CEO of one of the world's largest ad-buying companies, and his clients-the world's largest advertisers-control what TV programs get aired, what magazines get published, and how Google and Yahoo stay in (very healthy) business. In Watch This, Listen Up, Click Here, Verklin and Kanner expose the inner workings of the media, marketing, and advertising industries. Readers will learn why their favorite shows get cancelled, why Oprah gives away cars, and how money, people, politics, and new technologies are transforming TV, the Internet, radio, magazines, and other media Americans consume every day.

David Verklin (New York, NY) is CEO of Carat Americas, the world's largest independent media buying operation. He frequently speaks to executives in marketing, media, and management. Bernice Kanner (d. 2006) was a marketing expert and author for 13 years of New York magazine's "On Madison Avenue" column.