Do College Students Care About "The Tonight Show?"

The Jay Leno-Conan O’Brien feud has left many people with their eyebrows raised, especially NBC. In 2004, NBC made the decision to turn “The Tonight Show” over to Conan O’Brien starting in 2009. For many people, this was a significant change considering Leno has been the show’s host for 17 years (Gabler, 2010). The real question that has to be asked, which pertains to the specific topic of this matter, is do college students even care?


Let’s talk quickly about why Conan O’Brien was removed as the host of “The Tonight Show.” The biggest and most obvious reason O’Brien was paid off by NBC to leave “The Tonight Show” was because he wasn’t pulling the same high ratings that Leno was pulling when he was on the show. In NBC’s mind, O’Brien was the perfect predecessor to Leno because he was the new, cool-kid-on-the-block that would attract an audience in the 18-34 demographic--which is NBC’s target demographic. Unfortunately for O’Brien, his ratings as “The Tonight Show” host were much lower than what NBC expected, which led to O’Brien leaving “The Tonight Show” with $45 million (Gabler, 2010).

Now we will go back to the question at stake; do college student’s care? “I haven’t heard much about the feud and I could honestly care less. I watch ESPN and 24, that’s it,” said John Fitzsimmons, a University of Tampa student. Another response about this issue was, “I thought only old people watched ‘The Tonight Show.’ I’ll ask my grandmother what she thinks then get back to you,” said Charlie Simone, also a University of Tampa student.

The college consensus shows that students could actually care less about what’s going on between Leno, O’Brien, and NBC. Late night comedy shows aren’t appealing to the younger generation as much as they did when Leno took over “The Tonight Show” 17 years ago. If this is true, this may pose a significant problem for NBC and its affiliates. If O’Brien, a likeable witty icon, couldn’t carry the show on his shoulders, who can? The obvious answer to that question is Jay Leno, but Leno isn’t going to be around forever. The reality of the matter is that NBC will have to figure out what the younger generations are attracted to and strike before another network does.



Works Cited:

Gabler, Neal. "Jay Leno triumps over what's cool." The Los Angeles Times 23 Jan. 2010: n. pag. Losangelestimes.com. Web. 24 Jan. 2010.

“Goodbye O’Brien. Welcome back Leno”

January 22 was the last official appearance of Conan O’Brien on NBC late night television. It recently has been rumored he accepted a 33 million dollar contract to walk away from the station, allowing Jay Leno to reclaim his 11:35 time slot for ‘The Tonight Show.’ In addition to that loss, NBC is also paying O’Brien’s staff 12 million dollars in severance pay. In order for NBC to recover from this poor financial transaction, they must have a massive increase in ratings when Leno returns to his original spot.


NBC promised O’Brien five years earlier he would be taking over Leno 17 year run at the 11:35pm time spot. He has publically vocalized his anger toward NBC for going back on their word. The networks decision was a slap in the face and some feel he did not receive the valid opportunity he deserved. The network was quick to act when they noticed the poor ratings coming in from both hosts after the time slot switch. O’Brien’s ratings were less than half the 5.4 million viewers Leno was originally averaging. Long time fan Junior Kirk Hansen says, “I’m mad about what NBC did. I support Conon O’Brien and refuse to watch Jay Leno. He’s old news and doesn’t appeal to audiences in my age group.”An outpour of support for both hosts has increasing intensified this conflict throughout the media.

Many O’Brien fans are eager to see which station will pick him up, so they can readjust their late-night television schedules. Fox has shown interest, but due to the contract negotiations NBC has in place, they may have control over O’Brien’s rights to work with other networks until September 1, 2010. Also being set in the contract is forbidding O’Brien from trash talking the network. If his actions contradict with the negotiations it will lead to reevaluations of his exit deal.

Not all viewers are mad about the recent time slot changes. “Jay Leno should have never been moved in the first place. He’s always had the highest nighttime TV rating,” says Senior Stephanie Wheel. “I personally don’t care about the situation,” UT Junior Derek Sell expressed. “I really don’t understand why Leno is getting flack, when really he is just making a smart business move.”

Some now are wondering if NBC has put themselves in a no win situation. Not only have they produced chaos throughout their network, but they have also angered O’Brien’s 2.2 million viewers. They will be losing tens of millions of dollars with the contract change. In addition they run the possibility of losing even more money, because they may have split their audience.

March 1 Leno is officially taking back over his position. Until then you can catch O’Brien’s late night reruns on every weeknight.

Leno vs. Coco

This is not the first time NBC has been accused of destroying their prime time television schedule, and it probably won’t be the last. Executives at NBC have decided to push “The Jay Leno Show” to 11:35 p.m. due to poor ratings at the 10:00 p.m. slot. This decision would have pushed back “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” to 12:05 a.m. However, O’Brien refused and openly claimed that he would not host “The Tonight Show” past midnight. O’Brien stated, “After only seven months, with my ‘Tonight Show’ in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.” O’Brien was promised the position as host of the show five years prior.


Chairman of NBC Universal Television Entertainment, Jeff Gaspin, seems to be siding with Leno on the issue, “We’re pleased that Jay is returning to host the franchise that he helped brilliantly and successfully for many years. He is an enormous talent, a consummate professional and one of the hardest-working performers on television.”

While many are openly siding with O’Brien or Leno in the media and on the internet, students at The University of Tampa don’t feel compelled to side with either comedian. Before knowing the fate of “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien,” sophomore, Margaret Haff, commented, “Yes, Conan leaving NBC would be strange. He’s been with the network for so long and people don’t like change. Change is okay though, Conan won’t lose his following. Thing’s will just be different.” UT sophomore, Eric Kuczynski, did not think much of the controversy, “What happened again? Jay Leno took over Conan’s spot because he’s an ass**** right?” While UT Senior, Darren Anderson, also showed little interest in the conflict, “To tell you the truth I don’t like either of them. I don’t watch either of their shows so it doesn’t matter much to me.” The controversy apparently does not have the UT community talking.

With all of the drama this past week, both Leno and O’Brien have been able to make light of the situation by doing what they do best, making people laugh. This has brought much needed comic relief to late night television after all of the tension that has been rising. Leno had joked, “NBC stands for: Never Believe your Contract.” And while trying to manipulate his contract, which states he cannot say anything mean spirited about NBC, O’Brien told his audience -in Spanish- that, “NBC is run by brainless sons of goats who eat money and crap trouble.”

Due to other contract complications, O’Brien is prohibited to host a show on any program at least until September of this year. While nothing has been set in stone, however, Kevin Reilly, FOX Entertainment president, has spoken of FOX’s interest in O’Brien, “He would be a very compatible fit for our brand. He is one of the few guys on the planet that has demonstrated he can do one of these shows every night.” This may be a possible lead to O’Brien’s next step in his career.

During his final episode, O’Brien respectfully said to his audience, with all jokes aside, “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. I'm telling you, amazing things will happen." O’Brien’s last episode aired Friday, January 22, 2010.

Late Night Show Debate

The recent buzz in the media lately has been all about the late night television debacle between “Tonight” show host and comedian Conan O’Brien, and late night show host Jay Leno of the “Jay Leno Show”. The trouble started when NBC executives moved the “Tonight” show from its scheduled 11:35 p.m. Eastern Time slot to 12:05 a.m. to make room for the “Jay Leno Show”, this was done to combat the unfavorable ratings of Leno’s earlier scheduled show. The deal as describe by NBC was to give Leno back his old late night time spot, and to give O’Brien the option to do his show at the later time slot of 12:05 a.m. Luckily for O’Brien the entire incident has boosted his popularity and put him on the radar of other networks searching for late night talent. Without missing a beat the media has portrayed the incident into an all out debate cause people to choose sides and pledge their allegiance to either the red-headed “Tonight” show host, or the long jawed Jay Leno. Yet the true question around the University of Tampa college campus is does anyone even care?

When asked about the late night television debate, University of Tampa senior Eric Elmer had this to say “I really never paid much attention to any late night talk shows especially the ones hosted by Jay Leno or Conan O’Brien, but in this s argument I’d have to say I’m with Coco, he just seems funnier I mean he’s got red hair who doesn’t find that amusing.” The Coco nickname has been started by Conan O’Brien fans and has become somewhat of an internet sensation. Elmer also added “I think it’s funny more and more celebrities get attention these days for being in some sort of scandal or something instead of actually being talented.”

James Rossini another University of Tampa senior said “I don’t watch either of the two shows, so I am going to go with Steven Colbert from the show the “Colbert Report” I’d rather watch him any day then Jay Leno or O’Brien those shows just aren’t amusing to me.” So as it seems college students at the University of Tampa have little concern for the issues of late night television talk shows and the ongoing conflict of their scheduled programming.

O’Brien has voiced to the public in a statement that he will not perform the show at the new 12:05 time slot and has already received attention from network FOX. No matter what late night host you choose, or whether you actually care about the late night debacle one thing is sure we will being hearing a lot more about Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno and their popularity in the media will undoubtedly  rise, because as they say any publicity is good publicity. 

War of the Hosts

They are carefully crafted for gain but can often times rebound; decisions attempt to change an outcome, they also underpin big business. Early this month NBC made a corporate decision to adjust the timeslots of two of its zany late night television shows which has roused public outcry among viewers nationwide. In Tampa, Florida students at the University of Tampa express their concern, or lack thereof, about this issue which began in May of 2009 when Jay Leno resigned from The Tonight Show to host another: The Jay Leno Show. The, afore mentioned, Tonight Show would be hosted by comedian and television personality Conan O’Brien.


Although the first week of both programs’ airings, perhaps due to novelty, saw lofty ratings, subsequent episode ratings slumped and eventually tumbled below NBC’s projections. The idea to adjust each show’s timeslot was primarily due to complaints about Leno’s ratings. NBC felt that he was better suited for late night television, not the primetime in which he was then, so The Jay Leno Show was wrenched out of the 10pm timeslot and pressed back to 11:30pm, shoving O’Brien’s Tonight Show into the 12:05am slot, “which doesn’t make any sense at all,” says Ryan McCallister, a senior art major. The network gave O’Brien the option of either resigning with a monetary settlement or hosting the show at 12:05. “I would have taken the money,” chuckles undergraduate Mandy Jo with an elated, shoulder-hoisted smile; and that is exactly what O’Brien did! “The Tonight Show at twelve oh five simply isn’t The Tonight Show,” he says, also mentioning how the arrangement would interfere with other programs’ timeslots.

At long last O’Brien signed a $45 million deal on Jan 19th and he and his crew, to whom he paid $12 million, skedaddled. “It’s wrong that a network would step over someone like that,” says a thin, but towering William Stryffeler, “it’s good that Conan is sticking up for himself, though.” Other students seem to side with O’Brien as well; “It shows he has respect for other [later showing] hosts,” says Jo; and McCallister: “I thought he [O’Brien] was awesome, Leno will probably make The Tonight Show bad.” McCallister shares his viewpoint not only with other students but with majority of the nation; in fact, since this storm began Leno has been the subject of scorching criticism. Some liken him to a greasy, fat-faced bully while others fear for his reputation. Stryffeler says, “[Leno’s] ratings will probably go down regardless.” During this time, however, O’Brien’s ratings were utterly skywards. The conflict between the two hosts, and to a lesser extent, NBC, became a benefactor to the success of O’Brien’s final episodes in which comedic jabs were delivered. Says O’Brien defiantly, hands resting in the pockets of his dark slacks, “…and I just wanna say to the kids out there watching, you can do anything you want in life… yeah… yeah--unless Jay Leno wants to do it too.”

O’Brien’s episodes are scheduled to run until Leno’s return on March 1st. Although it is uncertain as to where O’Brien and his crew will retreat, other networks have, of course, shown interest in him.

-Tillman

The Late Night Scandal

With late night television becoming less popular among young people, especially young males, the late night TV rates were slipping, and some believe the latest scandal will not help improve ratings.

Major TV network, NBC, made a decision not long ago that Conan O’brien’s time slot (host of the Tonight Show) would be pushed back to 12:05 p.m. This would be to make room for Jay Leno’s show, which was unsuccessful in prime time.

The situation has caused a great scandal among the public. It has gone so far as to be turned into a battle between Conan O’brien and Jay Leno. Celebrities are being deemed “Team Leno” or “Team Conan” by which late night show they choose to appear on. T-Shirts have been made with a logo that Conan O’brien came up with so fans could show their support by wearing the shirts. “I’m with Coco” has become the slogan for O’brien’s fans.

With NBC standing their ground on their decision for the host’s designated new TV slots, O’brien has chosen to leave NBC. Although his contract is not up until September, the public is questioning O’brien’s next move. There has been buzz that he will move to FOX network, where people are hoping that he will be put head-to-head with Leno on late night TV.

The Tonight Show scandal has caused an uproar among students at the University of Tampa. Carli Todd, a junior at The University of Tampa says, “ I think Jay Leno is old and boring and Conan O’brien is going to have a show in 7 months that is going to be way better than Leno’s.” This statement stands true to many of the student’s feelings about the scandal. People are wondering why NBC wouldn’t keep O’brien instead of Leno? Todd goes on to say that she thinks, “Conan got shafted.”

            In the weeks leading up to O’brien’s departure from late night television, his show became a feeding frenzy for jokes geared toward NBC. O’brien was not shy to express his feelings on the scandal, as a matter of fact, some people believe that he may have been a little too hard on NBC, blowing the matter way out of proportion,

            Brittany Winebrenner, a sophomore at The University of Tampa says, “I don’t watch the late shows a lot, but I think that the situation got out of hand. Although its sad to see what happened to Conan, he was feeding the public with reasons to keep the scandal alive and make it a bigger deal than it should have been, which, I believe, was his intention.” She goes on to say, ”the matter got extremely annoying after a while.”

            A proclaimed fan of Conan O’Brien, Dan Minkow, a junior at The University of Tampa says, “I think its extremely unfair what they did to Conan because Leno walked away and retired and then came back saying that he wants his spot back. Conan appeals to a much younger audience and he would have been better for the network.”

            It is not sure whether or not O’brien will join FOX network’s late night line-up in September, but FOX has expressed their interest publicly, and O’brien fans are hoping for the deal to happen.

Tillman

Tillman is about as interesting as a sack of toenail clippings, or so he thinks, and so a man thinketh so is he. Since transferring to the University of Tampa a couple semesters ago, Tillman decided to double-major in Art and Mathematical Programming. He has few other pursuits beyond school, painting and drawing. Although he's worked in plenty of manufacturing plants and factories his ultimate career goal is to penetrate some aspect of the rapidly growing video game industry. He is a junior this semester.

Eric Zorn

Eric Zorn is a University of Tampa student in the journalism class 271. Eric is a Boston native who came down to Tampa to get out of the cold. He currently is living in the dorm Stadium, where he enjoys to party. Eric is at the University of Tampa to study communications, in the pursuit of a career as a music producer, and he is already paving the way with his hopeful job working for Sony Records in Manhattan. His past internship at Razor and Tie he assisted his bosses and marketing for Yule a Go Go, which is a holiday themed burlesque DVD, featuring popular Christmas tunes and local New York area dancers.

Matt Brown

Matt Brown; an Advertising major and current junior at The University of Tampa is a local Tampanian hailing from the downtown neighborhood of Davis Island. Brown is not far from home. Brown hopes to take his degree in advertising and work in the advertising industry creating adverts for various beers. He has interned in the industry before working for Bubba the Love Sponge a local Tampa morning show on 102.5 The Bone. Currently Brown is working at a Fitness room installment company known as Busy Body Gyms To Go installing gyms and fitness equipment in client’s homes.

Daniella Fusari

Daniella Fusari never pictured leaving her Somerset County home in New Jersey to attend college; she always imagined staying close to her Jersey home by going to a school in New York City. On a last minute visit to the University of Tampa, she was certain where she wanted to go to college. “Once I visited the University of Tampa, I fell in love with everything it had to offer,” said Fusari. Though her decision to attend the University of Tampa was made at the last minute, her decision to get involved on campus and in the Tampa community was immediate. Fusari is currently the President of Alpha Chi Omega, a sorority at the University of Tampa, the Vice President of Public Relations for the Panhellenic Council, the sorority governing board, a marketing intern for the career services, and a writer for the fashion column of The Minaret , the University of Tampa’s newspaper. These aren’t the only things that keep Fusari busy. On her free time, she enjoys going to the school gym and hanging out with her friends. According to Fusari, “Everything happens for a reason.” This is the line that Fusari lives by and basis many of her everyday decisions on. After she graduates, she plans to move back to her Somerset County home in New Jersey and work in New York City. Until then, she will continue her academic adventure at the University of Tampa and stay involved with the community as much as possible.

Brittany Rubrecht

Brittany Rubrecht is a junior at the University of Tampa, majoring in Advertising and Public Relations. Rubrecht has been granted a full scholarship to UT because she is one-quarter Pamunkey, a Native American tribe which lived in Virginia, the state in which Rubrecht was born. After graduating college, she hopes to write professionally, possibly for a magazine or newspaper.

Rubrecht said that as a child she enjoyed visiting her father, a consultant, overseas in places such as Puerto Rico and Ireland and one day hopes travel again, possibly even living in Europe for several years.

Rubrecht currently works as a server at Crabby Bills, a seafood restaurant. She lives off-campus with her boyfriend Richie, dog Milo and cat Peach.

Charlotte Whedon

Entering her second semester of her sophomore year at Tampa University, Charlotte Whedon has proven that her life is like many other students in America. The government/ world affairs major is from Bolton, Connecticut and is enrolled in a journalism 1 course currently after she expressed her interest in writing. “I am thinking of declaring a minor in writing.” said Whedon. Aside from her academic life, Whedon is involved in what many of her peers are also taking part in. A relaxing winter break is what many students look forward to after a long fall semester. Whedon spent her New Years in Philadelphia PA. “Being in Philadelphia for New Years was an interesting aspect of my winter break” said Whedon. When she’s back at school, Whedon likes to enjoy the Tampa nightlife. Music is one thing that she has held on to from a young age. Whedon started playing the clarinet ten years ago and it has evolved her into enjoying many different types of music. “I attended the Blink 182 concert last semester.” said Whedon. After an exciting and busy school year, Whedon enjoys kicking back at a beach house in Madison, Connecticut with her family.

Wayne Westerlind

Wayne Westerlind, a 21 year old junior at The University of Tampa, is working to find his gateway to a successful life. Between his internship, work, and classes, Westerlind gets through the day with one person in the back of his mind; his mother.

“I look up to my mom; she is what motivates me to succeed. She only has a half-hour a day to herself, and the rest is devoted to her work and her children,” Westerlind said.

Westerlind is spending his days taking classes to complete his degree in Advertising and Public Relations, fulfilling his duties as president-elect of the Public Relations club, while also interning at Schifino Lee Advertising Agency, and bartending at the Bungalow on Tuesday nights.
“I have seen success and failure from both sides. I have seen what it takes to succeed, and what it takes to fail,” Westerlind said, “and that is why I know what I need to do to be successful in my life”.

Amanda Price

Amanda Price is a sophomore at the University of Tampa in Florida. Price is 19 years old and was born on April 20th 1990. It just so happens her birthday coincides with the infamous holiday known as 420. She comes from Pennsylvania in a small town called Doylestown which is located about an hour outside of Philadelphia. She has two siblings, Eric and Emily, both of who are younger than her. Eric is 17 years old and Emily is 15. She also owns a pet cat named Rocky who’s orange and is 2 years old. Her major here at Tampa is communications and she is also studying for a minor in Journalism. Her dream job is to become a travel writer. Price is also very interested in studying abroad in Australia. She is also a dancer and pursues it by taking classes here at the University and participating in certain dance events. Her ultimate reasons for choosing Tampa over anywhere else was essentially the beach and the vacation lifestyle of Florida.

Grace Luoma

Grace Luoma, a sophomore at the University of Tampa, can be best described as family oriented. She chose to come to Tampa because her older sister Rory attended the University and while visiting the campus, fell in love with it. Though she would prefer to live in her hometown of Boston, she came to Tampa because she knew she would never live here and wanted to experience a different atmosphere, especially enjoying the warm weather! Grace is very proud of her father who she claims has influenced her most in her life. “My dad started off with so little and made the most of it. Now he is very successful and has a good job and loving family,” said Grace. In the future she too hopes to be successful like her father and work for a large Public Relations firm with lots of clients. Today, Grace is a proud sister of Delta Gamma and the director of scholarship and on the honor board.

Alex Bass

Born only twenty minutes from The Big Apple, Alex Bass has since relocated to the city of Tampa, Florida, a current junior at the University of Tampa. He celebrated his 21st birthday a few days ago in his hometown of Norwood, New Jersey. The reason for his move to Florida is a popular one: the beach. He currently lives in an off-campus apartment near the MacDill Air Force Base and drives a black Jeep Cherokee. Advertising and Public Relations is his chosen major.


Bass entered the world with a rocky start, with six fingers on each hand. Instantly removed, the abnormality did not prevent him from becoming soccer and lacrosse captain in high school. He has since taken a break from sports, yet played for two years in the Florida State Men’s League. Bass has two much older half-brothers, Pete and Michael – 44 and 41 respectively.

As a sports enthusiast, Bass’ dream career would involve ESPN. The company is based in either Los Angeles or Bristol, Connecticut and he hopes to end up at either location sometime after graduation. Working for ESPN in terms of journalism, advertisement or public relations would make him happy.

Samantha Cook

Samantha Cook, a junior at the University of Tampa, is a northern transplant just like many of her fellow students at UT. She is originally from Long Island, New York, and wanted to come down to Florida for the warm, sunny weather. She is currently living on campus, but last semester she was studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain. Even though she doesn’t speak any Spanish, she said it didn’t matter much while she was there, because many people in Barcelona spoke English, and there were many other international students there as well. Cook says she enjoyed her time in Barcelona, and after graduation, she wants to travel more. Right now however, she is majoring in Advertising and Public Relations, and like most college students, she likes to party. She does not have a set goal for what she wants to do for her career after school, but she knows she wants to do some traveling around the world before settling down.

Chris Campo

Chris Campo just transferred to the University of Tampa. He is a junior with a major in writing. Originally, Campo studied at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. He decided to transfer to get away from the cold and snowy weather up north and enjoy the warm and sunny weather of the south Florida. He is a native of Boston, Massachusetts. Living in Boston comes with its advantages. For example, over winter break, Campo had the opportunity to attend the Winter Classic hockey game at Fenway Park.


Campo plays guitar and since moving to Florida, he began playing with a friend at various clubs around Tampa, such as the Bungalow on Kennedy and the Anchor Bar on Davis Island. The music that they play includes covers of songs from bands like O.A.R. and Dave Matthews. Music is a main hobby of Campo’s, but he also enjoys fishing and playing sports. During high school he played lacrosse. Campo also played football, which is his favorite sport.

Lisa Papagoda

Lisa Papagoda is a new student in Professor Humphrey’s Journalism I class that is held on Tuesday and Thursday nights in the Jaeb Computer Center. Originally from North Haven, Connecticut, Papagoda is currently a junior at the University of Tampa. When looking at colleges, she decided that she wanted warmer weather and to get away from the cold. Also, she is much more interested in an area that is new and bigger. She also has a younger brother, Joey, who is 17 years old. Papagoda had transferred this past summer from the University of West Florida in Pensacola. She did so because she had added her major of communication to a double major consisting of writing and communication. Papagoda is also working for a minor in advertising. She likes many types of music, mainly bands that play on the radio from the rock and pop music genres. Her activities while in Tampa include going out on the weekends to popular bars and clubs such as Boss Hoggs and Mangroves. She also enjoys going to the beach, shopping, and going to the movies with friends. Recent films she’s seen are Sherlock Holmes and Disney’s The Frog Princess.

David Glenn

David Glenn is a twenty year old senior from Omaha, Nebraska graduating with a double major in English and Writing. He has always strived academically completing college credits in high school allowing him to graduate two years early from the University of Tampa. Glenn’s goal once graduating is to “survive.” Plans after college for Glenn are still completely undecided. He has many talents athletically in almost all sports. Basketball and bowling he says is where he really shines. Growing up in rural Nebraska he has not had many opportunities to travel therefore has never been out of the country. Some may say this young man is quite a catch. Glenn has had many past relationships but currently is single and keeps those ex-girlfriends at a distance.