Chris Rohrs: His Classic New York Story - Lunch at Michael's

Originally Published: September 5, 2003

The saga of Chris Rohrs, president of the Television Bureau of Advertising, is a true New York story. Of course, like every New York story, there are twists and turns. One turn was to the west when Chris left New York for WDIVTV/Detroit, where he became station manager, and then to the north, where he became general manager at WSFBTV/Hartford and then VP Sales and Marketing for Post-Newsweek Television Stations before leaving to head the TvB four years ago. Most people in the industry know about the incredible turn-around of the TvB, which Chris has spearheaded.

But the most interesting twist in the Chris Rohrs story is a tale worthy of "Sex and the City," and also involves Tribune Company CEO Dennis FitzSimons. Now, before your imagination gets carried away, this is not a story of Mr. Big (although Tina Brown, former partner of the actual Mr. Big, Ron Galotti, was also at Michael's the day Chris and I lunched there). This story dates back to the 1970s, when high school best friends Chris and Dennis were roommates in Manhattan, and Chris was working at TeleRep, while Dennis was at Blair. As mothers will do, Chris' Mom wanted to fix up her son with Kathy Fitzharris, the daughter of a friend, who ironically was also working at Blair. Chris asked his good friend Dennis to check Kathy out before he took the leap. It took a few weeks, but Dennis finally reported back with good news and bad news. The good news: "Kathy is great looking and really nice. The bad news," reported Dennis: "I asked her out myself."

The relationship between Dennis and Chris survived and, in fact, Dennis' first date with Kathy was a double-date with Chris. You already can guess the end of this story. Chris' interest was so strong that, like a true friend, Dennis stepped aside and six months later, Kathy and Chris were engaged and in 1978, they were married. Our New York love story doesn't quite end there.

Not long after meeting Kathy, Dennis and Chris were having a drink at the media hangout Mad Hatter. In walked four American Airlines flight attendants (of course they were "stewardesses" then). Dennis and Chris struck up a conversation, and one of them, soon thereafter, became Ann FitzSimons. Chris and Dennis have not only been linked in their personal lives, but in their business lives as well, as both have emerged as leaders of a new wave of leadership that is now guiding the television station industry into the 21st Century, along with David Barrett at Hearst-Argyle, Alan Frank at Post-Newsweek, Jay Ireland at NBC, Andy Fisher at Cox, Fred Reynolds at CBS and several others.

Chris commutes each weekend back to Kathy and his three children in Simsbury, CT. Anne is a junior at Notre Dame. Chris Jr. is a senior in high school and Mary Grace is a high school freshman. "When I accepted the TvB position four years ago," says Chris, "the kids were in various stages of school and it didn't make sense to ask them to make the transition to New York. It's not easy to be away, but at least 60 percent of this job involves travel, and the kids are thriving. So it works."

Sensitivity to the needs of others is one of Chris' strong suits, and it manifests itself not only in his skills as a listener, but also in his ability to inspire others. His second favorite pastime is reading (I'll get to the first later), and he enjoys inspirational stories such as "Seabiscuit." He also likes books that are historical as well as inspirational, such as David McCullough's "Truman" and he's currently reading "Charlie Wilson's War" by George Crile. Another favorite recent book is "Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas," which he read after finishing the current bestseller, "The DaVinci Code." "It's written by a theologian, Elaine Pagels, about the gospels, the sources of the holy scriptures. There were scores of gospels," Chris points out. "The scriptures we're familiar with today were determined in 325 AD by the Council of Nycea, ordered by Constantine, and were as political as they were religious." Chris, a practicing Catholic, considers religion to be the solid foundation on which he has built many of his own principles and strengths. He went to high school at the Jesuit-run Fordham Prep (he grew up in Yonkers) and received his B.A. in Economics from the University of Notre Dame, where his dad also went to school.

Which brings us to his first passion, another family religion: Notre Dame and [completing our New York story] NY Giants football. "We are all die-hard, fanatical fans, and we spend a lot of time and energy on football," Chris reports. Another family heritage and passion is Canada Lake, in the Adirondacks, where his family has been vacationing since his grandfather built a cottage there in the 1930s.

Family, commitment, a strong belief system, inspiration, relationships; all impressive qualities. But the skill that Chris considers his most important is salesmanship. "When I was young sales would not have been at the bottom of my list of career choices. But it's a survival skill. It requires strong communications, and the ability to listen, and to overcome insecurities. I always urge young people to consider a sales career." Of course, when Chris says it, it takes on a far more inspirational tone.

Chris can be reached at contact@jackmyers.com.