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
We have been experiencing some system resource issues. We believe the problem may be resolved, but if it is not please bear with us.
Recent Comments
on The Shifting Politics of AbortionAll laws are by necessity vague statements intended to be clarified by bureaucratic rule or court op…
on The Shifting Politics of AbortionWhen it comes to abortion, I understand the sentiment that says that it should be avoided. But that…
on Free Speech, But No Freedom to Harassi-dont-want-a-solution-i-want-to-be-mad-dot-jpeg
on The Shifting Politics of AbortionPersonally I think there was a lot of complacency that the worst that was going to happen was a Robe…
on The Shifting Politics of AbortionI agree partially but ... once Kennedy retired, it became obvious Roe was in danger, if not doomed.…
on The Shifting Politics of AbortionThere are a lot of things that are fine sentiments. These things that are fine sentiments are active…
on Free Speech, But No Freedom to HarassThat so many people who should know better are trusting anything out of the mouth of Hamas doesn't s…
Comics
-
April 24, 2024
-
April 23, 2024
-
Friend Husband At The Ballpark
April 22, 2024
-
Good Morning! Are You An Amateur?
April 21, 2024
More Comments
on Free Speech, But No Freedom to Harass
on Free Speech, But No Freedom to Harass
on Free Speech, But No Freedom to Harass
on Open Mic for the week of 4/22/2024
on The Shifting Politics of Abortion
on Free Speech, But No Freedom to Harass
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