Five lessons to learn from NBC's late-night Leno/Conan folly

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JANUARY 18, 2010

I'm not dumb enough to say this is the last time I'll write about the slow
motion tragedy that was NBC's attempt to undo its dethroning of Jay Leno from
the Tonight Show.

But as word leaks that Conan O'Brien may have reached an agreement with NBC to leave the network and free up Leno's old 11:35 p.m. timeslot, I'm hoping this list of hard-learned lessons will be enough to cap the
discussion for a while.

(As an aside, a blogger I never heard of went through a transcript of an appearance I made on PBS NewsHour back in May and found I predicted much of the current Leno/Conan problem then. Just sayin'.)

The full list is on display in a story here. The short list follows, with the latest swipe at NBC from inside NBC, Seth Myers' wonderful Weekend Update report on the late night mess.

Lesson 1: Never underestimate Jay Leno

Lesson 2: No matter how much they want to, network executives cannot force
the audience or industry to change.

Lesson 3: Nice guys finish last in network TV -.

Lesson 4: TV doesn't have time to develop shows anymorel.

Lesson 5: Managing a TV network requires more than good accounting
skills

Lesson 6 - Sometimes, TV Critics know what they're talking about..

Jay's 2004 announcement about leaving Tonight Show:

Jay's 2004 Announcement - watch more funny videos

Conan's 2004 announcement about taking Tonight Show job:

Conan's 2004 Announcement - watch more funny videos

Posted by at 2:05:24 pm on January 18, 2010 in

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The best TV shows, the worst shows, TV news, media issues and debates ... it's all here at the Feed, a blog on TV, media and modern life by Tampa Bay Times TV/media critic Eric Deggans. Possibly the most critical guy at the Times, he has served as music, media and TV critic at various times over 10 years.

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