The General Election Kicks Off, With a Slow Jam and a Quick Pivot

One of them spoke on cable news and one on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. One reminded America of its entrepreneurial roots and one jammed on stage with The Roots. Mitt Romney and Barack Obama both took the spotlight last night, the former to launch his general-election message in a primary-victory speech and the latter to pitch his student-loan policy in a Slow Jam the News segment at the University of North Carolina.

Tuned In

Late Show Fires Comedy Booker, Revives the Are-Women-Funny Debate (Sigh)

CBS PHOTO by JOHN PAUL FILO

Letterman’s now-ousted booker said that too many women comics were trying to act like men, rather than being “authentic.” What does that even mean?

The Night Shift: Larry King Breaks It Down For Conan – Stand-Up Comedy, Fashion Guru Ryan Seacrest, World’s Best Bagels

Larry King was on a ROLL last night on Conan, leaving the host dumbfounded when he wasn’t about to fall out of his seat laughing. The strangest assertion of all had to do with Ryan Seacrest and denim.

The Night Shift: Jon Stewart Confronts the Arizona Shootings, Makes a Passionate Appeal For Sanity and Hope

  Talk about a hard night to be a late night comedian. Given the very public violence of the weekend, and the attempted assassination of a sitting United States congresswoman, more than a few media observers wondered aloud as to how the nation’s funny men would return to the air Monday night. In the case [...]

The Night Shift: Jon Stewart's Seamless, Searing Takedown of Congressional 9/11 Hypocrisy

It’s always been a touchy subject on The Daily Show – the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, which redefined the battlefield of American politics. Following his emotional return to the airwaves in 2001, Stewart seemed somewhat hesitant about discussing the attacks. In the nine years since, he’s unloaded freely on the Bush administration’s rush to [...]

The Night Shift: Conan Gives Fans A Mission – And Reminds Us How Late Night Has Become an All-Day Affair

Something notable is changing about the relationship between late night television programs and the fans who watch them. Once upon a time, the back and forth was based around consistency and  familiarity. People would kick back in the recliner, lay back in bed, and tune in to see their old friend Johnny, Dave and Jay. [...]

The Night Shift: Conan Ups the Antics, Literally Pulls Out All The Stops (Video)

Okay, so let’s get this out of the way at the top: I’m a big Conan O’Brien fan, and I’m thrilled the red haired one has returned. But was I the only one who thought the opening night show was a little…meh? The cold open video, repurposing Conan as Sonny from The Godfather was hilarious. [...]

Tuned In

Dead Tree Alert: And Now, Your Moment of Men

I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to post any more Dead Tree Alerts here. Recently, TIME stopped posting full articles from its print edition online, requiring people to buy the print or iPad editions of the magazine to read the pieces. There is—as of now—no option to buy articles or issues [...]

Tuned In

The Daily Show Women's Problem With "The Daily Show's Woman Problem"

The women of The Daily Show‘s staff yesterday took the unusual step of issuing an open letter in response to a lengthy Jezebel blog post from last month that charged the show had a “problem” with women—specifically, with hiring too few women writers and on-camera talent. To rehash quickly, blogger Irin Carmon talked to female [...]

Tuned In

About That Late-Night Truce

Never mind: