On Sun, Jan 17, 2010 at 8:50 PM, Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote:
> (SNIP) I can't be the only one to notice that nobody in the crews of > either show has spoken out, > on or off the record. I can't be the only person to find that odd. > When Tom Snyder was getting offered the CBS deal and I was interning > on his CNBC show, I was getting calls from "Access Hollywood" and > "Entertainment Tonight" offering me money to confirm the offer. I cant > believe that, 15-years-later, the tabloid TV shows (in addition to > countless tabloid blogs) are no longer in the practice of doing this, > which means there is another reason (or reasons) why nobody on the > inside is talking. Which means there is more to this story than what > we're seeing. (SNIP) > > But, at the risk of really being labelled a conspiracy theorist, > here's one more thing I'd like to suggest: Whatever is going on, Leno > has known about it from the start. It would explain why his demeanor > has been so blasé about the move to 10pm (and now about the move back > to 11:35). What is taking place now doesn't seem to be shocking Leno > at all. Not a big leap for me to suggest he then approached his crew > and, without divulging details, told them to keep their collective > mouths shut and their jobs would be secure. > > As for why the Conan camp is also quiet, I think it must be a > condition of the nearly unprecedented severance packages that keep > getting talked about. > > I'm sure I'll be called paranoid and whoever does so might be right, > but the whole way this story unfolded has been odd, and it continues > to be odd. But, more than anything, it feels contrived. > I don't think this is what you are talking about (you seem to mean mid and lower level staff spilling the beans for fun or profit), but there was this story on the AP a little while ago. This sounds more like a part of the rather lame NBC PR response than real staffers dishing. A number of the news reports do cite anonymous sources, but again these seem more like high level staff and advisers to Leno and Conan, not lower level people. But I do think your explanation is a bit paranoid - more likely in this case the things to be known are at such a high level that very few really know what is going on. http://www.newser.com/article/d9d9tsr80/as-nasty-nbc-exit-nears-lenos-staff-shows-support-ratings-for-conan-obrien-are-going-up.html "Longtime members of Jay Leno's TV staff spoke up for their boss, saying he's being wrongly cast as the bad guy in NBC's late-night upheaval. "Any idea that Jay has forced the issue to get back on `The Tonight Show' is not true," said producer Jack Coen, who has worked with Leno for 14 years. "The network asked him to make a compromise. He's being a good soldier, and he's being trashed." Leno, typically cast as an easygoing everyman, has faced online chatter and some reports suggesting he's wresting "Tonight" from Conan O'Brien. Tracie Fiss, a co-producer who has worked with Leno for 18 years, said her reaction to such characterizations is "frustration."Jay doesn't have the power to make these decisions. The decisions are made by NBC," she said. (SNIP) Coen, who worked on "Tonight" with Leno and is a producer on Leno's prime-time show in charge of writing, said such barbed humor isn't unusual among comedians but contends it's being misinterpreted in news reports. "It's interesting to be on this side of the story and see how it's being reported. They act as if he's the corporate lapdog but also the master marionette forcing these issues," Coen said.
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