Glassman, 36, was the executive producer and writer of the reality show that featured a beauty queen who had to choose among (gasp) regular looking guys, instead of   the "ringers" that permeate reality TV.

The former general assignment reporter probably could relate to the premise as he had a high-profile romance with WCAU news anchor Jane Robelot while both were at the station.

In the mid 90's, Robelot and Glassman relocated to New York.  Robelot spent time at CBS and Glassman worked for WNBC for three years.  After, their relationship ended, Glassman moved to the west coast where his father, Havertown native plastic surgeon Harry Glassman and his wife Victoria Principal (of "Dallas" fame) live.  

He relocated to the Los Angeles bureau of CNBC, where he covered many entertainment stories including the first seasons of "Survivor" and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." While working on those stories, Glassman met a bunch of producers and thought that he could do the same.

"Many of the same skills I used as a reporter translated to the reality television world - being able to read people, etc."

Glassman pitched a couple of shows to the networks and ended up with "Average Joe" earlier this year.  The show was filmed in April and a second installment was quickly done in Hawaii in July before the first hit the air.

"Average Joe" has been a pleasant surprise for NBC.  It won its timeslot last week with 14-million viewers.

Glassman is currently editing the second season of "Average Joe" which debuts in January on NBC.

Ratings Notes
Though Lisa Thomas-Laury was a last minute scratch for the WPVI/Boscov's Thanksgiving Day Parade, WPVI still led with a 14.7 rating/28 share.  It beat the Macy's Day parade on NBC, which had a 9.2 rating/17 share and the CBS coverage of Macy's which had a 3.7 rating/7 share.

Each rating point equals 28,743 homes.