Defending Leno
I found this surprisingly persuasive.
Will
Will writes from Washington, D.C. (well, Arlington, Virginia). You can reach him at willblogcorrespondence at gmail dot com.
Features
Hot Posts
A Message From Devcat
Devcat is watching over, but if you notice any problems contact the editors and Devcat will be notified and deployed immediately.
Recent Comments
on Final Thoughts Before November Fifthwhich to this day still deploys doctrine built on willful misinterpretation of Scripture. 'Wilful mi…
on The Joy Of Opening Time Capsules: The Night Before the 2024 Presidential ElectionThe funny thing I didn't know until this cycle is the actual voters in Dixville Notch gets cycled ou…
on The Joy Of Opening Time Capsules: The Night Before the 2024 Presidential ElectionTrivia, the town of Dixiville Notch has voted: They vote 5-1 Ayotte - Craig and split 3-3 Harris -Tr…
Comics
-
November 4, 2024
-
November 3, 2024
-
November 2, 2024
-
November 1, 2024
More Comments
on Open Mic for the week of 10/28/2024
on Open Mic for the week of 10/28/2024
on The Joy Of Opening Time Capsules: The Night Before the 2024 Presidential Election
on The Joy Of Opening Time Capsules: The Night Before the 2024 Presidential Election
on Open Mic for the week of 10/28/2024
on When a Feller Needs a Friend
on The Joy Of Opening Time Capsules: The Night Before the 2024 Presidential Election
Sorry, but no. Here’s for the “Great Acts of Hypocrisy” file:
http://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/23/arts/jay-leno-criticizes-nbc-on-tonight-cliffhanger.html?pagewanted=1Report
NBC didn’t want to lose O’Brien, but also didn’t want Leno to take his successful show elsewhere. So programming chief Jeff Zucker tried to strike a compromise: He signed a deal with O’Brien guaranteeing that he would take over as host of the Tonight Show in 2009.
That’s more or less how Leno got the Tonight Show, too: to avoid losing him as permanent guest host, NBC put it in his contract that he’d be Carson’s successor.
The facts of the article seem in general correct, but its tone is relentlessly pro-Leno. E.g even though it took three years for Leno to win his time slot, Conan is branded a loser for not winning it immediately, and the effect of the horrific lead-in he was getting (from Leno, as it happens) is discounted.Report
Last doesn’t seem to fully appreciate the bum deal that O’Brien got, though he does point out the obvious: the cause of all these headaches is NBC’s ineptitude. They’re the ones that promised the show to O’Brien. They’re the ones that agreed to kick Leno out the door. They’re the ones that tried to keep Leno around by putting him in the earlier timeslot. They’re the ones that set both of their hot properties that they wanted to hold on to up to fail.
NBC was once a great network, but now the only parts of the past they can repeat are the mistakes.Report