Good evening.

How are you doing?

I know you are enjoying th programming here on PBS Kansas.

This is Inside the Cover and I am your host, Ted Ayres.

As always, it is an honor and pleasure to be with you this evening.

Are you ready for some seriously good book talk?

It is clear that you understand and appreciate the quality, variety, and depth of th programming on public television However, I also know that some of you may occasionally find yoursel washing commercial television.

And if you do, I am guessing that you might have also found yoursel watching late night television.

Well, tonight's book provides some amazing insights into that world.

It is now time to go inside the cover.

Tonight's book is The War for Late Night by Bill Carter.

Subtitled ‘When Leno went Early and Television Went Crazy.

The book was copyrighted in 2010.

I found my copy at the Little Free Public Library and I finished it on July 18th, 2024.

I found the book to be a fascinating read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I am old enough to remember Steve Allen, Jack Paar, and of course, Johnny Carson.

In that regard, I would recommend Henry Bushkin's book, Johnny Carson.

As Carter's book makes clear, late night television can be dangerous and dramatic.

The War for Late Night chronicles the 2010 conflict surrounding The Tonight Show involving Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno.

It is a sequel to Carter's 1994 book The Late Shift, which detailed the struggle for the hosting spot on The Tonight Show between David Letterman and Jay Leno in the early 1990s following Carson's retirement.

In reference to the late shift, I thought it interesting that Helen Kushnick, Leno's manager at the time of Carson's retirement, filed a $30 million lawsui against Carter, claiming libel.

The lawsuit was ultimately settled for an undisclosed amount.

Kushnick, who died of cancer in August of 1996, was not favorably portrayed in the War for Late Night.

In the afterword to The War for Late Night, Carter writes that ‘this book is almost exclusively the product of first hand reporting.

I gained information from several other sources, especially in-depth interviews in Rolling Stone magazine.

I also relied on some of my own reporting for the New York Times.

He was also quoted as saying, ‘I'm reaching out to everyone I possibly can to get every side of the story as he relates the story of the Leno-O'Brien battle.

Carter also includes detailed biographical descriptions of other late night television personalities, including Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Craig Ferguson, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Chelsea Handler.

I found it interesting to learn more about the backgrounds of these entertainers, who we so associate with commercial television programming, and how the Leno-O'Brien matter impacted potentiall or actually their own careers.

Let me leave you with this quote from the Star Tribune.

‘The next time network TV executives stumble into an ugly behind the scenes battle, they should consider hiring Bill Carter to negotiate.

Tonight's book has been The Wa for Late Night by Bill Carter.

It was copyrighted in 2010, but I still found it to be a very entertaining informative, and enjoyable read.

As someone who vividly remembers when his father brought home the first family television set, complete with all three channels in black and white, this book provides a detailed and vivid look at the television entertainment industry.

Good night and I look forward to seeing you next time right here on PBS Kansas with another edition of Inside the Cover.