Jay Leno Doesn't Want To Go

The Skinny: "Tonight Show" Host Is Upset About NBC's Plans To Give His Job To Conan

(CBS)  The Skinny is Keach Hagey's take on the top news of the day and the best of the Internet.

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To the dismay of NBC studio executives, Jay Leno will not go gentle into that good night.

According to three gossips who spoke to the Los Angeles Times, he's upset about NBC's plan to hand his job over to Conan O'Brien in 2009.

He agreed to the plan three years ago as part of a compromise to keep Conan, who now goes on after Leno, from bolting to another network. But now that the moment is nearly upon him, the long-faced comedian doesn't want to go.

And he's got something of a case. His rating remain strong at 5.8 viewers per night, and he's beaten his longtime rival David Letterman for 12 years.

But too many of those 5.8 million viewers are too old to suit the suits in Burbank. They're gambling that O'Brien's frat-boy humor will bring more of those coveted, ad revenue-generating 18- to 49-year-olds.

You can hear the problem when experts give Leno "compliments" like this one: "He's familiar, he's comfortable, he's safe and he's trusted when you are home late at night and in your jammies, feeling vulnerable," said TV historian Tim Brooks. "There's friendly 'ole Jay. A lot of people may not want to trade him for new and edgy."

Is Al Qaeda In Iraq Down For The Count?

Al Qaeda in Iraq has taken some "devastating and perhaps irreversible blows" in recent months, the Washington Post reports. And now the military is bickering about what to make of it. Dare they declare victory?

Considering how well things went the last time the military staged a press conference in Iraq underneath a "Mission Accomplished" banner, it's understandable there's a bit of disagreement.

Some generals are advocating we do a victory dance based on the widespread agreement that AQI (al Qaeda in Iraq) has suffered major blows over the past three months. Suicide bombings - the group's "signature attack" - are down from more than 60 in January to around 30 a month since July. (Is 30 bombings a months really grounds for gloating?)

Captures and interrogations of AQI leaders over the summer had what one official called a "cascade effect," leading to other killings and captures. Fewer fighters are coming through Syria to Iraq, and greater troop deployments in AQI strongholds like Anbar province have helped deprive the militants of a secure base of operations, military officials said.

But others, including Gen. David Petraeus, are urging restraint. Their reasons for so doing ranged from the reasonable (fear of looking like idiots) to the cynical (fear of losing the kind of clear, scary enemy that makes it easy to get public support for wars).

In the first camp, one White House official worried about what would happen if the military declared victory, and then suicide bombings spiked again. "How would that play out in public opinion?" the official rhetorically asked the Post.

No one offered a quote for the second camp, so the Post had to supply the words: "Such a declaration could fuel criticism that the Iraq conflict has become a civil war in which U.S. combat forces should not be involved."

American Bloggers Rebroadcast Al-Qaeda's Messages

Whatever penetration al Qaeda may be losing in Iraq, it's gaining on the web, the New York Times reports, thanks in part to a 21-year-old American blogging from the basement of his parents' home in North Carolina.

Samir Kahn, who was born in Saudi Arabia and grew up in Queens, serves as a "kind of Western relay station for the multimedia productions of violent Islamic groups," according to the Times. Some of his recent posts include "glad tidings" from a North African militant leader whose group killed 31 Algerian troops, a scholarly treatise arguing for violent jihad translated into English and links to secret sites where readers can check out the latest blood-drenched insurgent videos from Iraq.

The Times points out that he's not doing anything illegal and doesn't seem to have any ties to militant leaders. And he's not alone. Terrorism experts at West Point say there are as many as 100 English language sites offering militant Islamic views. Kahn's, which has about 500 regular readers, is just one of the more active.

The phenomenon is turning out to be the lasting legacy of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the former leader of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia who was killed in June 2006 by American bombs. Zarqawi learned the power of the Internet in prison, the Times reports. Then in Iraq, he embraced the video camera as a weapon of war.

"He made the decision that every group should have a video camera with them," said a Palestinian militant who went to Iraq in 2005 to teach foreign fighters. "And every operation should be taped."

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[drinuk]

Unfunny man ! Bring Back Johnny !

[mbcsmith]

The LIBS need to SURRENDER quick. Progress in Iraq will be their defeat.

[samthetvcat]

I don''t find Conan very funny, but then again all the people I like seem to keep getting squeezed out/canned . . . Craig Kibourne, then Ted Koppel, now Jay . . . are ratings actually up with their replacements or is it that they''re willing to work for cheaper? And how much could Conan really command by moving networks? Would he go to ABC?

[rharrin1]

I change the channel when O''Brien comes on now so I guess I won''t have the tv on that channel at all. Just don''t find O''Brien funny.

[carlylaine]

CBS will never get it. Jay is the best. And SENIORS are the biggest group...

CBS!!!You guys had better wise up..you kept Dan R...he was nothing..You better not allow Conan to take Jay''s place...

JAY!!!! You fight these idiots and sue them if they throw you over for the likes of Conan! I roar at the skits and the things you say..Conan is quite the moron and not funny.

[nolalou]

CarlyLaine, I think your confused, Jay Leno and Conan O''Brian are on NBC, not CBS! CBS is just reporting the story! I guess Jay Leno fans are just not too bright!

[goodlucktu]

CONAN REMINDS ME OF WOODY WOODPECKER. HIS HUMOR IS SOUR AND ALL HE DOES IS ACT LIKE THE BIRD. IM SURPRISED THEY EVEN HAVE HIM. JAY HAS ALWAYS FIT IN WITH EVERY AGE BRACKET AND I THINK HE SHOULD STAY ON AS LONG AS HE WANTS.. THUMBS DOWN TO THE CONAN TAKEOVER, WONT WORK FOR ME AND IM SURE FOR ALOT OF OTHERS..SEND HIM OVER TO ABC LET KIMBLE WORRY ABOUT HIM LOL.

[dfinn9]

We Tivo Jay Leno every night. When we heard you were replacing Leno with O''Brian, we tried to watch O''Brian. OMG, , , How Can you believe O''Brian could ever take Leno''s place? The stupid hand movements, the jumping around, it''s just not what we are looking for. Go ahead, make the blunder of the networks. Letterman comes in 2nd because of his stupid "bits" that just don''t come up to Leno''s style of intertainment. Johny stuck to humor, raw tallent, he never tried to hard at being funny, O''Brian could never ever fill Leno''s shoes. And you say younger is better, where the heck did that come from?
Try Sienfelt (sp) with his hummor, he''s not affraid to explore, he''ll show us all the funnies.

[missingamerica]

Kind of moot if Al Qaeda is exterminated in Iraq or not; we''ll still be there.

Bush, Cheney, and PNAC''s commitment to a U.S. presence in the Middle East is in no way linked to whether Al Qaeda has a presence there.

Never was. Or did you forget?

[jetlizhan]

i like jay leno fine - but hey, a deal is a deal. he agreed to it 3 years ago and he needs to stick to it. this is not fair to conan. come one jay, suck it up and move on as planned!!! i don''t care who sits in that chair - they''ll NEVER hold a candle to johnny carson. late night tv has never been the same.

[klingon69]

In August 2006, During a business convention in Las Vegas, we were lucky that one of the sponsers managed to bring Jay Leno in to do a 90 minute stand-up show. The man is hilarious. I too was a long-time Johnny fan, and rarely watched the tonight show after he left. Now since last Aug I do catch Jays monologue and he is still funny. I have never been able to grasp alot of the jumor from Conan, Letterman(reminds me of the old Electric Company educational show on PBS), or any of the other late-nite hosts.

[godseyesore-2009]

He made a deal, and ''a deal is a deal''. Well, too bad, Jayboy. Adults should THINK before committing to action.

[not4irs]

"Kind of moot if Al Qaeda is exterminated in Iraq or not"

It''s kind of scary that an American could make such a statement regarding the very enemy that attacked US on 9/11.

I guess the level of hatred between Americans has reached a level where some Americans really believe that George Bush is the only source of evil in the world and al Qaeda and Osama and Saddam and Amedinjiad or all just misunderstood.

Maybe if we just let Jimmy Carter hug them all of this war stuff would just disappear.

[bec67]

CBS better rethink this one. Can''t stand Conon, he''s a jerk and what''s with that hair? Won''t be tuning in to CBS anymore, if that happens!

[liberalme]

Conan is awful--I can''t stand Letterman--Without Leno--late-nite comedy will be nil for that station.

[cbs_oliver]

It''s hard to have much confidence in the analysis of media folks when they have a consistent record of willful ignorance.

Al Qaeda in Iraq has been estimated by various intelligence folks at about 7% percent of the insurgency or in other cases at about 1000 people altogether.

The US military and the government and the media have been reporting the defeat of al Qaeda units on a regular basis over the last year. A typical CBS story on Iraq during that time frame included three references to al Qaeda and one reference to the defeat of al Qaeda forces.

Over that time it would seem that the US military and CBS has reported the deaths of more al Qaeda than were estimated to exist.

I have wondered how they were doing against the 93% of the insurgency that was not considered to be al Qaeda and about which we never seemed to hear - except occasionally under the "Medhi Army" brand name.

Anyway I am glad to hear that al Qaeda is dead. Does this mean all the insurgents will now be considered to be working for the "Mehdi Army" brand name insurgency - or maybe for Del Monte or Dole or Chiquita Bannana? ;)

[karma1231]

it''s on NBC, not CBS. I think Conan is hilarious and I wish him the best....he has put his time in at the later slot, and I am happy to see him moving to an earlier time where more people will be able to appreciate him!

[godofredo29]

Conan is a professional and, while I love the guy, I think Jay''s getting kind of tired. I have to admit that I''m not sure how Conan plans to retool his act to fit the Carson slot, but I''m sure he''s up to the task.

[deb0733]

Stay Jay. Gigure out a way. Just stay. Enuf said.

[hamomo-2009]

Hope Jay stays. Cannot stand Conan. Race to change the channel when I here him coming on. Will never watch the Tonight Show again when he becomes host.

[GRPDiver]

Conan is "new and edgy." More like annoying. I''m in that target demographic of 18-49 (at least for another 6 months) and I have never been able to watch more than 5 minutes of Conan the Awful. Bring on Jon Stewart and Stephen Cobert.

[wolfboi1970]

BYE BYE JAY...GOOD RIDDENS...CONAN''S BETTER...BUT LETTERMAN WAS AND IS AND ALLWAYS WILL BE THE BEST!!

[corncrake-2009]

I am repelled by Conan''s insipid humor. And, yes I am one of older baby boomers. When all of us migrate away from the Tonight Show, you''ll see what a bad idea this is. I will miss Jay. After he leaves, I will not watch the Tonight Show again.

[greeneyes222]

Conan is dreadful. Put him on, we''ll be gone.

[shoujoboy-2009]

Leno''s humor is way too spotty. He has his on nights but for the most part the humor comes up a bit dry. Conan has always had the better sense of humor but has gotten the lower echilon of guests. I enjoy the oddball, purely random humor of Conan but never liked that the end of the show would be a band I''ve never heard of and will likely never hear of again. I think this move will work out.

[mennowoman]

Conan? Ugh! I can''t believe they are going to bump Leno for O''Brien. I can''t remember the last time I laughed at one of his bits. If it weren''t for special effects, I don''t think he would have any bits to do. It''s hard to believe a 48 year old man still thinks the bathroom is so funny. Okay, Leno isn''t as young as he used to be, but the Tonight Show is supposed to be more sophisticated and cerebral than anything Conan O''Brien can muster. When he does the street quizzes, he''ll probably be one of the contestants, not the host. There are a hundred comedians who would be better picks than O''Brien. IF O''Brien is threatening to go to another network, let him. Who will miss him? This HAS to be a bad joke. Conan O''Brien must have written it.

[olebd]

Conan is only funny as a behind the scenes writer because he has such an expressionless face. He was great as a writer foor The Simpsons.

Leno needs to go play with his wild and wacky collection of autos full time.

[geezer62]

It may be a big mistake to replace Leno with Conan. People have different ideas as to what is funny and these guys are completely different as to their style. I have always liked Leno and the bits that he does but Conan leaves me cold. His brand of humor just doesn''t do it for me. However, it really doesn''t matter since the decision has been made. I will always think of Carson when I think of the Tonight Show. He was the master, in a class by himself. Either way, good luck to Jay and Conan.

[rick-nelson]

Nearly one-third of what Jay says is funny and he can do stand-up sitting down talking with a guest if that guest is nimble. Conan really doesn''t have much to say when you take away his filler and all his comments about that night''s monologue. Keep Jay as long as he''ll stay and if you must trade, replace Kevin Eubanks with someone funny.

[gangesdak]

My vote is for Jay to stay.

[prairiefox1]

IF JAY MOVES TO ANOTHER NETWORK I WILL MOVE WITH HIM!
THE SO CALLED SUITS HAVE TURNED TV INTO NOTHING BUT ***! THEIR OPINION OF WHAT ENTERTAINMENT REALLY IS ,,
IS SO TWISTED! THEY OPT TO RUN PROGRAMS THAT COST VERY LITTLE AND THE SIMPLE PUBLIC WILL EAT IT UP!
WELL IT LOOKS LIKE IT IS WORKING!

[prairiefox1]

Why Don''''''''t You Know Ron Paul??????

The corporate media will not give Ron Paul any Exposure. Because, NBC is owned by GE. GE is one of the world''''''''s largest war-makers. They make things that go boom. They make $Billions on war. A Ron Paul administration would be bad for business. CNN is owned by AOL. Majority share holder is Saudi Royal Talal who is also partners with GHWBush in The Carlyle Group. Another major warmaker. And on and on. You get the picture. This is why they are doing a Media Blackout on him. Because they don''''''''t WANT YOU TO KNOW THE TRUTH!!!

Who is Ron Paul?
http://www.ronpaul2008.com/about

Ron Paul Has WON 10 Straw-Polls!:
http://www.ronpaul2008.co

m/straw-poll-results/

Who Owns The Media: http://www.mediaowners.com

RESTORE YOUR LIBERTY & FREEDOM
SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT RON PAUL 2008!

He Will:

** Stop Iraq War Immediately
** Eliminate IRS
** Eliminate Federal Reserve
** Eliminate Government Wasteful Spending
** Restore America''''''''s Work Force & Values
** Restore America''''''''s Freedom!

GET UP AND GET ACTIVE TODAY!!!
Paul Is America''''''''s Last Hope!


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Posted by StopIraq a

WHO CARES ABOUT RON PAUL? I DON''T ! HE LOOKS AND SOUNDS LIKE A LOSER!

[cmp271]

Don''t let Jay leave until a decent replacement is found. Anyone notice no one ever subs in for Jay like they did for Johnny. I''d be better than Conan as a replacement.

Conan is a terrible acting host. His humor and the skits they do are horrible, and very offensive. If he replaces Jay I will never watch the show again.

If the suits aredesiring a younger crowd for more revenue, haven''t they heard, it is the 50 and over bunch who have most of the money.

Oddly enough I have just written a letter to Jay commenting on a few things, and this was one of them.

I am sure Conan is a nice guy off stage and doesn''t act this way full time. On stage he is dreadful and an insult to the same stage The Beatles, Stones, Elvis, and others perofrmed on.

[stezzer]

Stay Jay. Conan O''Brien is nowhere near as funny.

Here in the UK we love your jokes about our teeth. Not only funny..but true.

[puzzler125]

I believe that Conan''s sillier humor will not translate to 11:30 audiences and NBC would lose a significant share of the viewers. Although I enjoy both performers Jay Leno is more clever, has a broader audience base, and fits a national audience of different ages. Conan is more frat boy humor and a certain self-satisfying bear is NOT going to make it at 11:30.

[jetlizhan]

StopIraq:

you make me sick

[marcodele]

If you watch the Leno show closely, you''ll notice that very little of what he says gets laugh. It is more like polite applause at each punchline.

Stick a fork in him, he''s done. Great career, great guy, time to go.

[bill1fj]

Stay Jay.
If NBC chunks you out
Go to another network.
I''ll go to.
Conan is a bore.

[boston1954]

CBS better rethink this one. Can''''t stand Conon, he''''s a jerk and what''''s with that hair? Won''''t be tuning in to CBS anymore, if that happens!

Posted by Bec67 at 12:04 PM : Oct 15, 2007
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Leno and O''Brien are on NBC not CBS.

[grammawhamma]

Jay Leno is funny...O''Brien isn''t. Once Jay is gone I''ll read a book instead of watching the Tonight Show.

[rosesnpearls]

Can''t stand Leno - never could. I have not watched a single episode of the Tonight Show since he started. maybe they''ll get someone interesting or funny to watch.

[rosesnpearls]

Boston1954, good news: you can still watch CBS since the Tonight Show is not on CBS.

[tikka12]

Wonder why so many posts do not realize this contractual arrangement was a done deal 3 years ago and widely reported? Leno should simply be scouting for a new network. The contract ends; take the money from NBC and run. Boomers (born 1946 to 1964) are the largest consumer group, spending the most and will continue to for many decades to come. Also they are the largest group of insomniacs who stay in and use the TV as a bedtime soporific. Leno is okay %u2013 not as good as Johnny Carson. It%u2019s like he%u2019s on a leash and can%u2019t really let out. Carson had so much more class than any of them. I liked Letterman back in the 1980s but he%u2019s lost his edge. I despise Conan O%u2019Brien; he%u2019s not funny and not entertaining. I like Craig Ferguson but he needs more material or more writers or something.

[rushlimpdrug]

Do something smart NBC throw this arrogant dumbazz out.
He''s about as funny as a mack truch with a cowcatcher.
Can''t stand his whinny voice and frankenstein laugh.

[ampsanne]

I use to like Jay Leno but when he started running things into the ground I quit watching him. Once he gets on a subject he runs it into the ground. Conan won''t fill Leno or Carson''s shoes that''s for sure. I think they should have gotten Jimmy Kimmel to take Leno''s place. I like Dave Letterman because he seems to know when to be funny and when to be serious. He''s come along way from his beginnings and I''ve been with him from NBC to CBS.

[socrates392]

"And he''s got something of a case. His rating remain strong at 5.8 viewers per night, and he''s beaten his longtime rival David Letterman for 12 years."

Wow, 5.8 viewers per night . . . that''s a lot! Now that''s a funny typo! LOL!

[rushlimpdrug]

Dabe Letturmun is the better of the two.
Jay is as stupid and silly as there is.
His worthless sidekick and their line about sleeping together and being gay got old after he told it the first time.
NBC could put a stump on stage and it would be as funny as Jay plus get the same 5.8 viewers.

[christiansin]

I agree, replace Leno with a stump and the audience of mouth breathers will probably get even bigger.

I''d rather watch Craig Ferguson by the way. Letterman is getting a bit boring, but he''s still better than Leno ever was.

[memerider]

Conan O''Brien is mostly boring--I don''t find him at all edgy--and rarely funny. Craig Ferguson could be extremely good in that time slot with more varied material. He is more like Carson--funny with a heart, sometimes edgy, more of a risk-taker, and he plays to a much broader audience. With the right material, he''d trounce all of the others.

[rowdytexan2]

I never liked Jay, and miss Johnny terribly...Karnak the Great was my favorite...

I guess I''m too old to relate to Conan...he just seems like a brat with too much to say for himself. Never thought he was funny..

And YESSSSS! What''s with the HAIR? With his kinda money, you''d think he could get a remake on the ''do''!!!