Tag Archives: jay leno

Of all the journalists who covered the dramatic ups and downs of late night television this year, only one has made the genre his journalistic purview. Reacquaint yourselves with Bill Carter: New York Times media reporter, bestselling author of The Late Shift and the authority on late night. In spite of the tens of thousands of headlines already devoted to Conan, Leno and Letterman in 2010, the late night industry is still relatively small, with a handful of hosts, a few hundred employees and several tightly guarded doors. As evidenced by his definitive book about the battle over Johnny Carson’s crown, Carter is the only person with complete access to this cutthroat world. In anticipation of his upcoming chronicle, The War For Late Night: When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy , which will be published in September , Movieline picked Carter’s brain about another HBO adaptation, a potential Tonight Show down at the Emmys and the reason why Conan might contribute to the collapse of late night.

Originally posted here:
Late Shift Author Bill Carter on ConanGate, Letterman’s Heirs and the Cannibalization of Late Night