Peter J Boyer

Midway through his hourlong report on the U.S. pornography business tonight (9 p.m., KCET), "Frontline" correspondent Peter J. Boyer declares, "This is the golden age of porn." By that time, viewers will not be surprised at the observation.

Midway through his hourlong report on the U.S. pornography business tonight (9 p.m., KCET), "Frontline" correspondent Peter J. Boyer declares, "This is the golden age of porn." By that time, viewers will not be surprised at the observation.

No longer the most-watched network, CBS remains the most written about. If only it could convert the slew of books about it into ratings points. The long list swells with the addition of Peter J. Boyer's "Who Killed CBS?" and "Prime Times, Bad Times" by former CBS News President Ed Joyce. Still more CBS books are on the horizon. And then what, kiss and tell from the CBS mail room?

Young composers are always searching for ways to get their music heard. The occasional concert performance, "vanity" CDs and cassettes, brief sound bites on their Web sites--it's tough sledding for most. Upland composer Peter Boyer, on the other hand, has achieved what most composers his age--31--only dream about. On Tuesday, KOCH International Classics will release a compact disc consisting solely of his concert music.

Young composers are always searching for ways to get their music heard. The occasional concert performance, "vanity" CDs and cassettes, brief sound bites on their Web sites--it's tough sledding for most. Upland composer Peter Boyer, on the other hand, has achieved what most composers his age--31--only dream about. On Tuesday, KOCH International Classics will release a compact disc consisting solely of his concert music.

In the Sept. 24 cover story by Peter J. Boyer ("Mr. Clean's Mid-Life Crisis"), Steve Garvey aired his dirty laundry. Then, as a sequel, we were treated with Cynthia Garvey's one day in jail for contempt of court. This appears to be no more than an arrogant egomaniac seeking revenge on his ex-wife. Mr. Garvey states he would like to run for public office. He can't even run his own affairs. If this man can't be loyal to one woman, how could he possibly be loyal to a constituency. His current wife is kind enough to offer to raise the children born to the other women with whom he had affairs.

Peter J. Boyer, Atlanta bureau chief for The Times and formerly its national television reporter, is joining CBS News on Feb. 4 as a media critic, principally for "The CBS Morning News." The 32-year-old reporter will be based in New York. A CBS source who Thursday confirmed the appointment said CBS will formally announce Boyer's hiring early next week. The source said that Ron Powers, also a media critic for CBS News, will continue there.

GOOD HEARTS by Reynolds Price (Ballantine: $4.95). Rosacoke and Wesley Beavers met in Price's earlier novel, "A Long and Happy Life." Here, their 28-year marriage begins to disintegrate. BEST KEPT SECRETS by Sandra Brown (Warner: $4.95). Alexandra Gaither will go to any length to find out which one of three men knows the secret behind her mother's death. CONFESSIONS OF JOHNNY RINGO by Geoff Aggeler (Signet: $4.50). Ringo, the subject of Aggeler's historical novel, carried classical books in his saddlebag and shot a man for refusing to drink with him. MAIGRET'S MEMOIRS by Georges Simenon, translated by Jean Stewart (Avon: $3.50)

CBS president Laurence A. Tisch said Wednesday that he thinks Walter Cronkite will remain at CBS News, even though the former anchorman has said he'll be free to work elsewhere in news next fall under his new contract with the network. "We are having very friendly discussions with Mr. Cronkite," Tisch said. "They're going in the right direction, and I am sure that Mr. Cronkite will be a permanent fixture at CBS . . . at CBS News."

Peter J. Boyer, who went from the newspaper world to television last February as the media critic on the troubled "CBS Morning News," is returning to print on Dec. 2--as a television reporter for the New York Times. "It's a chance to work at the New York Times, and I'm excited about that," Boyer said by phone over the weekend when he confirmed rumors that he is leaving the program. However, he added, "I had a great time at CBS, learned television, and enjoyed my colleagues."

No longer the most-watched network, CBS remains the most written about. If only it could convert the slew of books about it into ratings points. The long list swells with the addition of Peter J. Boyer's "Who Killed CBS?" and "Prime Times, Bad Times" by former CBS News President Ed Joyce. Still more CBS books are on the horizon. And then what, kiss and tell from the CBS mail room?

"American Beauty" and "Election" were the film winners Sunday night at the 52nd annual Writers Guild of America Awards, while episodes of "The Sopranos" and "Frasier" took home honors for TV series writing. Alan Ball won for best screenplay written directly for the screen for his bleak satire "American Beauty," at ceremonies scheduled to take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, as well as the Plaza Hotel in New York.

Back in the old days, Hollywood was cutthroat, heartless, power-crazed and dog-eat-dog--in other words a town today's rabid Hollywood hustlers can look back on with nostalgia. But the evermore savage business climate isn't keeping hordes of new hustlers from arriving--and pedigreed ones at that. "Through a convergence of circumstances--emerging technology, foreign money, and the sorry state of the investment economy--Hollywood has become the last boom town in America," Will Dana writes in M inc.'