Howard Stern Bashes Conan for Taking the High Road With NBC
On Conan's last broadcast of The Tonight Show, he thanked NBC for all they have done for his career despite the whole debacle. Everyone applauded his decision to go out in a classy manner. Everyone except Howard Stern. (NSFW Language)
On yesterday's show Stern said that Conan has no real reason to thank NBC for all they've done since NBC happens to be the network that screwed him over in the first place. Even though Conan has called NBC his home for the past 20 years doesn't negate the fact that they are the lone reason he was put into this position in the first place. Should he thank them for putting Jay on in front of him? Should he thank them for promoting Jay's show more than his? Should he thank them for letting Jay take all of the A-list celebrities that would have been guests on The Tonight Show?
Howard goes on to say that Conan burning his bridge with NBC would not only be the ballsy thing to do, but the right thing to do. And Howard is no stranger to burning bridges. Back in 2006, when Howard was preparing his move from CBS Radio to Sirius, he got in a very public spat with CBS CEO Les Moonves. When Moonves threatened to sue Stern for promoting his Sirius show on CBS Radio, Stern didn't take that threat lying down. He shot back, going so far as wearing an "I Hate Les Moonves" t-shirt at the 2006 Oscars.
So why does Howard believe Conan should cut all ties with NBC as well? Because Conan is good at his job. It doesn't matter what bridges you burn, if you're good, people will want you to work for them. Stern says to this day, he still receives offers from ClearChannel despite trashing them on his radio show every day for nearly five years.
But the fact remains that while Stern built his reputation on speaking his mind and verbally destroying anyone who crosses him, Conan built his career on the persona as the fun-loving nice guy. Conan said it himself in his last Tonight Show broadcast: "Don't be cynical." It would be a betrayal to his fans, his writers, and himself for Conan to take the low road and trash talk NBC on his way out the door. Conan more than likely weighed his options and realized he had nothing to lose and everything to gain by going out on a high note.
