It was quite a year in the world of talk shows. For one, the late landscape completely changed at NBC, and it is still unclear that it’s for the better. Another late night icon revealed certain weaknesses – later overshadowed by the dalliances of a golfer Tiger Woods. And the end of an era was announced, even if that era will continue for a year or two more.
So what are the Top Ten Talk Show Moments of 2009? Read on and find out.
On October 1, 2009, David Letterman, host of the Late Show on CBS, told his audience that he had had affairs with Late Show employees and that he was the target of an extortion scheme.
A CBS News employee, who worked on the television show "48 Hours", was arrested for trying to extort Letterman. He has been suspended from his job and has pled not guilty. Allegedly, the man left a package in Letterman's car that said, "I know that you do some terrible, terrible things and that I can prove that you do some terrible things." The package contained proof of the affairs.More »
The headline came as a shock to many, but they were reassured quickly. The Oprah Winfrey Show will be around until 2011. Then it’s gone. And Oprah’s off to the new Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), set to debut in 2011 as well.More »
So far, OK. The late night shuffle at NBC -- which saw Jay Leno debut The Jay Leno Show, Conan O’Brien become Tonight Show host, and Jimmy Fallon take over Late Night -- has gone smoothly. The only hiccup so far? Leno’s numbers are down -– way down. And Letterman and his Late Show are winning –- big.More »
Ed McMahon, Tonight Show announcer and sidekick to host Johnny Carson for 30 years, died June 23. He was 86. McMahon died after midnight at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. No cause of death was announced, though multiple health problems, including bone cancer, have been attributed to him.More »
The beginning of the year saw a lot of talk shows taking on or reacting to the recession in myriad ways. Jon Stewart feuded with MSNBC’s Mad Money host Jim Cramer.
For a week, The Daily Show host lambasted cable business network CNBC, financial commentator/entertainer Jim Cramer, and his program, for putting entertainment above journalism and not asking corporate the hard questions that might have unveiled a potential economic collapse much sooner. Cramer agreed to be a guest on The Daily Show. The meeting was good-natured and the debate genuine. In the end, Stewart offered a virtual “do-over” for the two.
Then Jay Leno initiated his ‘Comedy Stimulus Plan’ giving free concerts in Michigan, Ohio and Boston, to anyone out of work.
President Barack Obama visited Jay Leno on March 19 while Leno was still host of The Tonight Show. It became the first time in history a sitting U.S. president has visited a late night talk show. The main topic was the passage of a $787 billion economic stimulus plan and the U.S. economy in general.More »
It started in September when Good Morning America host Diane Sawyer announced she was leaving the program, taking on the role of World News anchor. Then news anchor Chris Cuomo all-but-revealed he was leaving as well, in an early December tweet. That was shortly after George Stephanopoulos, host of ABC's This Week and former White House press secretary for President Bill Clinton, was rumored to be the new co-anchor (later confirmed). The New Year promises a very new GMA.
For several weeks in late spring, Stephen Colbert, host of The Colbert Report, slyly indicated that he would take his show to the Mideast. He couldn’t say when. He couldn’t say where. But in the end, The Report broadcast four shows at the beginning of June from the heart of Baghdad at the U.S. military’s Camp Victory – lovingly titled Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando. The shows became the first taped, non-news talk show fully produced and broadcast from Iraq.More »
In early September, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres announced she’d been named the fourth judge on the insanely popular American Idol.
“I have a big announcement to make. No one knows this. I just finally got the OK, just moments ago. I am going to be the new judge on American Idol,” she told her studio audience. Thursday's Ellen is pre-taped. “I'm not leaving here. Don't worry about that. I'm going to have a day job and a night job. The times we're living in ... we're all doing that.”More »
So what are the Top Ten Talk Show Moments of 2009? Read on and find out.
1. Letterman Admits Affairs; Is Blackmailed
On October 1, 2009, David Letterman, host of the Late Show on CBS, told his audience that he had had affairs with Late Show employees and that he was the target of an extortion scheme.
A CBS News employee, who worked on the television show "48 Hours", was arrested for trying to extort Letterman. He has been suspended from his job and has pled not guilty. Allegedly, the man left a package in Letterman's car that said, "I know that you do some terrible, terrible things and that I can prove that you do some terrible things." The package contained proof of the affairs.More »
2. Oprah Announces The End of 'Oprah'
The headline came as a shock to many, but they were reassured quickly. The Oprah Winfrey Show will be around until 2011. Then it’s gone. And Oprah’s off to the new Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), set to debut in 2011 as well.More »
3. Late Night Shuffle at NBC
So far, OK. The late night shuffle at NBC -- which saw Jay Leno debut The Jay Leno Show, Conan O’Brien become Tonight Show host, and Jimmy Fallon take over Late Night -- has gone smoothly. The only hiccup so far? Leno’s numbers are down -– way down. And Letterman and his Late Show are winning –- big.More »
4. Ed McMahon Dies
Ed McMahon, Tonight Show announcer and sidekick to host Johnny Carson for 30 years, died June 23. He was 86. McMahon died after midnight at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. No cause of death was announced, though multiple health problems, including bone cancer, have been attributed to him.More »
5. Talk Shows Take on the Recession
The beginning of the year saw a lot of talk shows taking on or reacting to the recession in myriad ways. Jon Stewart feuded with MSNBC’s Mad Money host Jim Cramer.
For a week, The Daily Show host lambasted cable business network CNBC, financial commentator/entertainer Jim Cramer, and his program, for putting entertainment above journalism and not asking corporate the hard questions that might have unveiled a potential economic collapse much sooner. Cramer agreed to be a guest on The Daily Show. The meeting was good-natured and the debate genuine. In the end, Stewart offered a virtual “do-over” for the two.
Then Jay Leno initiated his ‘Comedy Stimulus Plan’ giving free concerts in Michigan, Ohio and Boston, to anyone out of work.
6. Obama Becomes First Sitting President to Visit Late Night TV
President Barack Obama visited Jay Leno on March 19 while Leno was still host of The Tonight Show. It became the first time in history a sitting U.S. president has visited a late night talk show. The main topic was the passage of a $787 billion economic stimulus plan and the U.S. economy in general.More »
7. Many Changes at ‘Good Morning America’
It started in September when Good Morning America host Diane Sawyer announced she was leaving the program, taking on the role of World News anchor. Then news anchor Chris Cuomo all-but-revealed he was leaving as well, in an early December tweet. That was shortly after George Stephanopoulos, host of ABC's This Week and former White House press secretary for President Bill Clinton, was rumored to be the new co-anchor (later confirmed). The New Year promises a very new GMA.
8. Jon Stewart is Named America’s Most Trusted Newscaster
Daily Show host Jon Stewart is America’s Most Trusted Newscaster, according to a July Time magazine poll. The poll was conducted in response to the death of esteemed journalist and former CBS Evening News anchor Walter Cronkite, who was often referred to as “the most trusted man in America.” Stewart won the poll with 44 percent of the vote. NBC’s Brian Williams came in second with 29 percent, followed by ABC’s Charlie Gibson, 19 percent, and CBS’s Katie Couric, 7 percent.More »
9. Colbert Broadcasts from Iraq
For several weeks in late spring, Stephen Colbert, host of The Colbert Report, slyly indicated that he would take his show to the Mideast. He couldn’t say when. He couldn’t say where. But in the end, The Report broadcast four shows at the beginning of June from the heart of Baghdad at the U.S. military’s Camp Victory – lovingly titled Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando. The shows became the first taped, non-news talk show fully produced and broadcast from Iraq.More »
10. Ellen Named ‘American Idol’ Judge
In early September, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres announced she’d been named the fourth judge on the insanely popular American Idol.
“I have a big announcement to make. No one knows this. I just finally got the OK, just moments ago. I am going to be the new judge on American Idol,” she told her studio audience. Thursday's Ellen is pre-taped. “I'm not leaving here. Don't worry about that. I'm going to have a day job and a night job. The times we're living in ... we're all doing that.”More »
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