I can understand all the hand-wringing over the news that “The Tonight Show” might be heading back to New York after four decades in Burbank – I’m just not sure I agree. When Johnny Carson came West in 1972, the Big Apple was grimy and not far from bankruptcy. And the move affirmed L.A.’s status as the pop cultural capital of the country. Heck, the world. Hollywood was preeminent. And what it did for Burbank. For those too young to have watched, the city was long the butt of Carson’s jokes. He made regular references to “beautiful downtown Burbank” with a knowing, quizzical grin that unfailingly elicited laughs from his audience. Everyone understood Burbank was hardly a garden spot in the 1970s. Of course, Burbank reveled in the publicity, even the kind that left it with a black eye. After all, “The Tonight Show” and Carson were nothing less than national institutions. They were treated as such when Carson retired in 1992. The nation watched every move as the choice for a successor came down between David Letterman and Jay Leno. The rivalry was intense. A bestseller was written. HBO even made a movie about it. And when Leno got the prize, it felt as though the crown was being passed down. Nothing less than a coronation. The new King of Comedy had been anointed in Burbank. Well, that was then, and this is now. “The Tonight Show” is certainly a national institution, but like so many these days it’s been diminished, even tarnished. Some of that was the network’s fault. Some of it, just changing times. Leno was forced out in 2009 while still tops in the ratings and before he wanted to go by executives who wanted the show to appeal to the younger television demographic advertisers covet. A younger Conan O’Brien was installed. Now, I like Conan, but we all know how that worked out. Sure, that spectacle got plenty of coverage too, but it was the kind that makes you want to avert your eyes. Now, just four years later, the network is once again pushing Leno out the door, apparently when his contract expires in 2014. The heir apparent is Jimmy Fallon, who is a quarter century younger than the 62-year-old Leno. This time, NBC needs someone to compete with the younger, hipper Jimmy Kimmel on ABC. Here’s the problem, though; Leno is still tops in the late night ratings, but it’s just not the same game he inherited in 1992. You need a scorecard these days to keep track of the contestants: Letterman, Kimmel, Stewart, Colbert, Fallon, Ferguson. It’s all eaten so much into “The Tonight Show” franchise that annual profits generated by the show are reportedly down to no more than $40 million, well off the $150 million it made at its peak. Leno took a 40 percent pay cut when the network slashed his budget last year. So does anybody really think “Saturday Night Live” alum Fallon is the answer? Two decades ago, folks were in the know when they passed Carson jokes around the office. Today, we are all so busy on our computers and mobile devices downloading the latest apps lest we get dubbed Luddites. “The Tonight Show.” Yeah, I caught that clip on YouTube. As for Burbank, why should it care anyway? It is hardly the gritty working-class town it was when Carson arrived. Guess what, the downtown has angled parking, a mall, nice shops and restaurants, three multiplexes. I could go on. And much of that has been fueled by the growth of its media industry, which these days – no surprise – is about new digital platforms and apps. Consider this: Studio 11, where “The Tonight Show” films, isn’t even owned by NBC anymore. It’s leased from a new owner, who built an office tower next door to serve those new media companies. (See Staff Reporter Kelly Goff’s article on page one.) Good luck, New York. Maybe you can do something to revitalize an old, once revered institution. In this town, the longest running talk show on TV was getting a bit creaky. • • • Finally, check out the rest of our commentary section. The cartoon by Steve Greenberg is his take on a call by the Valley Industry and Commerce Association in the last issue for a light rail line to replace the crowded and relatively slow Orange Line busway. Respected local economist Chris Thornberg, an early skeptic of the housing boom, explains why the lastest froth in the market should not elicit the kind of worries I voiced in an earlier commentary. And Assemblyman and incoming Third District L.A. Councilman Bob Blumenfield writes about some red tape he’s trying to clear up for businesses in Sacramento. Please, send some emails. Let us know what you think. Laurence Darmiento is editor of the Business Journal. He can be reached at [email protected].
Whe-e-e-ere’s Johnny?
