late night

If you fly into many major U.S. cities late, don't count on getting room service at your high-end hotel -- or even finding a decent meal nearby: Late-night dining options are frequently off the table, even if you're staying at the best hotel in town.

NBC did serious harm to Jay Leno's public image when it tossed out its late-night succession plan in January. The number of people who view Leno unfavorably rose dramatically in the weeks after the network said it was moving him from 10 p.m. back to 11:30, displacing Conan O'Brien.

Our long national nightmare is over: Conan O'Brien and NBC are parting ways in peace, if not amity. In a deal expected to be announced officially later Thursday, the network will pay the Tonight Show host $32 million to walk away.

The sniping among late night comedians has intensified over the last few days, as millionaire entertainers jostle for position in the great Jay Leno - Conan O'Brien conflict. A lot of fingers are pointing at one side or another, but the real blame lies with the NBC executive who started the whole thing.

NBC Universal chairman Jeff Zucker is spending $40 million of General Electric's money to get rid of Conan O'Brien. NBC was contractually bound to give O'Brien $40 million if it canceled the show -- but it also buys Zucker a non-disparagement clause from the late-night comic.

NBC Universal's chairman failed to anticipate that Jay Leno wouldn't want to take early retirement, or how audiences would turn him off in prime time. Now he's preparing to demote O'Brien to coddle Leno, whose best days are clearly behind him.