Remote Controller

You’re reputed to be shamelessly unsentimental in management matters.

Thanks. I take it as a compliment.

Why the blood bath at Channel 56?

We bought the company, the assets, the building, and the equipment. We did not assume the payroll.

Don’t you need news anchors?

When we bought Channel 7 in 1993, I used to say the anchors in Boston liked to talk about the news instead of covering it.

You have said churn “comes with the territory.” If you want to run an aggressive, competitive TV news operation, you’re going to end up with a lot of turnover of personnel. You hire young people who are ambitious and energetic. Some of them you’re going to promote, some don’t make the grade, and some move on.

Now some news anchors appear on both Channel 7 and Channel 56. Do you not plan to give 56 a separate identity?

We want the Channel 7 identity and, at the same time, we want to deliver a different product. It’s very similar to what Procter & Gamble does in extending their brand. You want to introduce a new product, but you want to give it an identity the consumer recognizes.

In Miami, your WSVN is a Fox affiliate. Here, you’re going up against Fox. Do you care how this squares with Fox owner Rupert Murdoch?

Rupert owns half the world, and he’s trying to buy the other half. What’s going on in Boston isn’t even on his radar screen. Even if it were, Rupert is a very pragmatic man, and he would see it as good business.

Tell me about your 10 p.m. news in Boston compared with Fox’s.

It’s hotter. We have better talent and a larger, more competitive news department.

You are currently listed as No. 322 on the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans. Much of your $1.2 billion personal worth is tied up in Florida real estate. Other than diversification, why own a TV company, too?

Television is very dynamic. You can have a meeting in the morning and things get done in the afternoon. In the real estate business, it can take two or three years.

Your father made millions in the family shoe business in Worcester. You and your brother, Ron, recently gave $2 million to the Fenway Community Health Center. What guides your philanthropic choices?

It’s a judgment call. We don’t really have a policy. My brother got me to do the Fenway Community Health project because he’s been involved there for many years. We had a cousin, Peter Ansin, who died of AIDS 20 or 25 years ago.

You live a notoriously ascetic lifestyle. How do you enjoy yourself?

I’m old New England. I like having a routine. I swim regularly. I walk and do exercise. I go out to dinner on the same nights of the week.

You have said you want to work until your mid-70s. You’re 70 now. When do you plan to cash out?

Oh, I don’t plan to cash out. That’s for my heirs to worry about someday.

– Monica Collins