New Fox Entertainment chief Peter Rice spent his first big turn in the media spotlight Thursday answering a barrage of questions about Paula Abdul and "American Idol."
Rice, the veteran film executive hand-picked by Rupert Murdoch to take the reins at Fox in March, betrayed not a hint of New Guy nervousness as he calmly answered one query after another about the ongoing "Idol" crisis. His bottom line message: We’re moving on without Paula.
"It was not our choice. We wanted Paula to come back to the show," Rice said.
But while Rice said the network is "very sad that she not coming back," he made it clear "Idol" would be OK without her.