How will the late night shows handle today's tragedy?

[Bob1370]

I remember what Johnny Carson did the night Martin Luther King was killed in 1968. He actually didn't want to do a show at all that night (April 4, 1968). He would tape at about 6 or 7 ET every night back then, and by taping time, the news had already broken. NBC didn't opt to pre-empt things that night (they did pre-empt a couple months later when RFK was killed, but probably only because the news broke right at the time Carson would normally have gone on and the network had just gone into bulletin mode--Carson had taped a show earlier that night in June of '68 but AFAIK it was never aired, then or at any later date.)

Johnny had to do it anyway (the network didn't want to fill the time) so he scrapped the monologue completely, as well as his normal comic bits in the first segment after the commercial. He briefly acknowledged the situation at the show open, saying he didn't feel right about doing a comedy monologue that night because of what had happened that afternoon, went straight to his guests (none of whom were comedians that night) and just did some extended conversations with each of them, a lot more subdued than you normally saw on that show.

Nowadays the network probably would have pre-empted it completely and put together a news special, rather than just relying on Johnny to find a way to respond to a national tragedy the best way he could. NBC was lucky that Johnny found the right tone and approached it the best way anyone could have under the circumstances.

 

[searadiofreak]

Excellent summary of that night. Thanks for the tv history there.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

Nowadays the network probably would have pre-empted it completely and put together a news special, rather than just relying on Johnny to find a way to respond to a national tragedy the best way he could. NBC was lucky that Johnny found the right tone and approached it the best way anyone could have under the circumstances.

I can't think of an instance other than 9/11/01 where the networks pre-empted their late night programs for continuous news coverage.

 

[searadiofreak]

Nowadays the network probably would have pre-empted it completely and put together a news special, rather than just relying on Johnny to find a way to respond to a national tragedy the best way he could. NBC was lucky that Johnny found the right tone and approached it the best way anyone could have under the circumstances.

I can't think of an instance other than 9/11/01 where the networks pre-empted their late night programs for continuous news coverage.

Yes, Letterman's comments came atleast a day or two after as I recall, but they were powerful.

 

[azumanga]

[NBC] did pre-empt [Johnny Carson] a couple months later when RFK was killed, but probably only because the news broke right at the time Carson would normally have gone on and the network had just gone into bulletin mode--Carson had taped a show earlier that night in June of '68 but AFAIK it was never aired, then or at any later date...

I believe Johnny was pre-empted outright coast-to-coast for special primary coverage. Also, as the assassination happened shortly after Midnight PT, it was 3AM on the East Coast, meaning if Johnny was on that night, it already aired in much of the country, and he would already have finished his show from the Rockies eastward when the assassination happened.

 

[nomadcowatbk]

Nowadays the network probably would have pre-empted it completely and put together a news special, rather than just relying on Johnny to find a way to respond to a national tragedy the best way he could. NBC was lucky that Johnny found the right tone and approached it the best way anyone could have under the circumstances.

I can't think of an instance other than 9/11/01 where the networks pre-empted their late night programs for continuous news coverage.

What about for TWA Flight 800? that happened in the evening