Sarnoff, schooled in a Minsk yeshiva to be a Talmudic scholar, was brought to America a penniless immigrant; he grew into a gruff and domineering self-made man. "There was no mistaking what David Sarnoff wanted," said longtime NBC executive David Adams. "There was no bullshit." Paley, by contrast, had acquired position, together with polish, as a birthright.

Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, loc. 347