The War for Late Night: When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy

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Overview

A dramatic account of the politics and personalities behind NBC's calamitous attempt to reinvent late-night television.

When NBC decided to move Jay Leno into prime time to make room for Conan O'Brien to host the Tonight show-a job he had been promised five years earlier-skeptics anticipated a train wreck for the ages. It took, in fact, only a few months for the dire predictions to come true. Leno's show, panned by critics, dragged down the ratings-and the profits-of NBC's ...

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The War for Late Night: When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy

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Overview

A dramatic account of the politics and personalities behind NBC's calamitous attempt to reinvent late-night television.

When NBC decided to move Jay Leno into prime time to make room for Conan O'Brien to host the Tonight show-a job he had been promised five years earlier-skeptics anticipated a train wreck for the ages. It took, in fact, only a few months for the dire predictions to come true. Leno's show, panned by critics, dragged down the ratings-and the profits-of NBC's affiliates, while ratings for Conan's new Tonight show plummeted to the lowest levels in history. Conan's collapse, meanwhile, opened an unexpected door of opportunity for rival David Letterman. What followed was a boisterous, angry, frequently hilarious public battle that had millions of astonished viewers glued to their sets. In The War for Late Night, New York Times reporter Bill Carter offers a detailed behind-the-scenes account of the events of the unforgettable 2009/2010 late-night season as all of its players- performers, producers, agents, and network executives-maneuvered to find footing amid the shifting tectonic plates of television culture.

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Editorial Reviews

Heather Havrilesky
Despite its title, The War for Late Night is anything but incendiary…[Carter] traces the strategies and motives of all parties with remarkable empathy…[and] entertains us every step of the way, peppering the page with more rich comedic details than your average late-night monologue…Carter presents an unexpectedly engrossing tale that should engage readers with even the mildest interest in this latest Hollywood battle of wills. He resists getting too ugly, but he still has plenty of fun, providing a nice lesson on restraint for entertainment reporters everywhere.
—The New York Times
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780452297494
  • Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
  • Publication date: 9/27/2011
  • Pages: 432
  • Sales rank: 246,954
  • Product dimensions: 5.40 (w) x 8.40 (h) x 1.00 (d)

Meet the Author

Bill Carter joined The New York Times as a national media reporter in 1989. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Late Shift, two other books on the television industry, Monday Night Mayhem and Desperate Networks, and has written numerous articles for The New York Times Magazine and other publications. He has been a guest on Nightline, Today, CNN, Charlie Rose, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, and many other shows. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, he lives in New Jersey with his wife. They have two children.

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 46 )
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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 46 Customer Reviews
  • Anonymous

    Posted July 22, 2012

    Nightjays tale prolouge

    How could you! The black shecat screeched. She unsheathed her claws. She dug them in the ground as she looked at her murdered kits. Why she wailed. Her mate walked over to press his muzzle to hers. She scratched him across the nose. You murdered them admit it ravenight! The toms blue eyes filled with guilt. Why did you kill them? The tom did not answer. WHY!?she screeeched. She was our only kit left and you killed her. She pressed her nose to her daughters black flank. Nighttail was beautiful skillful nonevil encourged cat. Nightjay looked at the moon. A fate will come in the darkness in jays wing. The tiger roars through a light forest cutting darkness into them.only the jay of night will rise and clean the wounds of peace. She whispered. Nightjay the tom begain. Nightjay picked up her daughters lifeless body and ran into the night darkened forest. Brambles tugged at her fur but she kept running. She stopped at a stream with fish. She caught a fish and ate.she pushed some fish to her daughter. She turned and the fish was gone.she looked back and the piece of fish was there.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted November 18, 2010

    great story

    i love it!

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