Words To Live By
If you’re not aware by now of the bitter feud in late night television these past few weeks that’s finally reached an end between NBC, Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien over the fate of the Tonight Show; then welcome back to earth. I hope the space station is nice this time of year. That being said, I won’t get into the details. Maybe some other time. It again, much like the writer’s strike, has been an extremely historic and fascinating time to be so near ground zero where it’s all unfolding.
What I will say is this: NBC made a huge mistake in letting Conan go. It was one of many, many huge mistakes that NBC has made in the past ten years on the way to losing billions of dollars in revenue and becoming the constant butt of jokes in the television and in the greater entertainment industry. Ultimately, between the lines, one of this country’s most venerable blue chip brands in one of this country’s most profitable industries has been completely and utterly eviscerated through terrible management decisions under the stewardship of one executive. It’s sad and disappointing. My industry often rewards, in its executive ranks, utter failure and NBC is one of the greatest examples of this behavior. With the recent Comcast deal to purchase NBC and Universal from GE, we may well be seeing the first stages of the dissolution of one of the oldest broadcasting entities in America. So much for Must See TV.
That aside, tonight was Conan’s final show on the Tonight Show. He was paid handsomely for his exit. But it wasn’t about the money for Conan. He had grown up watching the great Johnny Carson and worked hard for the past seventeen years to get to where he sat for seven months – The Tonight Show desk. It was the pinnacle of his career. He imagined when he moved out from Ney York last year, along with over 200 of his staff and their families, that he would work the Tonight Show for fifteen or twenty years and ride off into the sunset probably. I can’t imagine the pain and fury I would feel in his shoes as this all unfolded. Sure, the monologues leading up to tonight were caustic and bitter – much was said back and forth on air between all parties involved.
But tonight, Conan closed out with a farewell speech, and in the end rose above it all and showed the world why he deserved to stay, why he was indeed wronged, and that he is the better man. This is what he said:
And finally, I have to say something to our fans. The massive outpouring of support and passion from so many people has been overwhelming. The rallies, the signs, all the goofy, outrageous creativity on the internet, and the fact that people have traveled long distances and camped out all night in the pouring rain to be in our audience, made a sad situation joyous and inspirational.
To all the people watching, I can never thank you enough for your kindness to me and I’ll think about it for the rest of my life. All I ask of you is one thing: please don’t be cynical. I hate cynicism- it’s my least favorite quality and it doesn’t lead anywhere.
Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.
Truly amazing words. Words that I try to remember myself in life. To not hold onto the expected, or even your dreams, too tightly. What you imagine and desire, may take different shape than you expected and there can be inspiration in that, even in the darkest or most trying moments in your life.
Thanks, Coco. I think Johnny would’ve approved….
