PHOTOS, PAGE 1

       Editor and prime reporter is Doug Terry, a veteran television and radio reporter in   Washington, DC, (details below)

Has it really come to this, that Jay Leno and Conan O;Brien are one of the biggest stories in America? Aw, who cares? People are very interested. War and peace can wait, we’ve got to know what NBC is going to do.

For those old enough to remember, this is turning out to be the “New Coke” disaster of the 21st century. A real mess. So far, NBC is exhibiting all the grace of a water buffalo settling in for a long afternoon nap. Let’s see, the local stations hate the Leno Show as a late news lead-in. Let’s dump him back to where it was and see if Conan will accept being moved back half an hour and everyone else gets moved back an hour, total. Kinda like being the last in line for food with 20 meals and 30 people.

Nope. No deal. O’Brien issued a statement today that he will not do “The Tonight Show” if it starts at 12:05 AM (it would already be tomorrow by then, anyway, wouldn’t it?) His statement, which follows below, might be the only graceful moment in what is shaping up into a disgraceful episode in the 60 year history of Tonight. If NBC wants to kill off what is left of the whole notion of network television, they’ve made a good start.

U.S. presidents (a lot of them) have come and gone while the Tonight Show has been on television. Several generations have come to adulthood and one or two of those generations is moving toward older age. Who are the ding bats at NBC, no matter how dire their situation, who think they can mess around with this franchise? Either keep it, make it work (with the guy you signed to do it) or scrap it. The moves, as now set up, amount to a virtual firing of O’Brien, except he gets to keep the name and Leno would get half of a show, earlier than Tonight. Some deal. O’Brien showed some class by turning it down and casting his fate to the winds.

I’m no fan of O’Brien, but I am less a fan of Leno who, in my mind, should never have been given the Tonight Show to begin with. I am even less of fan of screw-up-a-minute management who apparently believe they can straighten out the mess they made by making it worse.

People of Earth:

In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I’ve been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I’ve been absurdly lucky. That said, I’ve been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.

Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.

But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.

Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot does’t matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.

There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.

Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.

Yours,

Conan

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