Conan O'Brien: A class act!

Never really watched Conan O'Brien on a regular basis.

But when I did I found that many of his bits were funny in a rather bizarre way.

But after reading the statement he released today, the phrase that comes to mind is: "Class Act."

People of Earth:

In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I’ve been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I’ve been absurdly lucky. That said, I’ve been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.

Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.

But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.

Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.

There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.

Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.

Yours,

Conan

Can't wait to see how NBC gets out of this one!

Who's in charge at the Herald?

Does anyone at the Miami Herald even give a sh*t any longer?

Apparently not.

Within a minute of visiting the paper's Web site this afternoon, I found glaring examples of a lack of oversight and a paucity of imagination at the Herald. And that was in just one story.

In the story - headlined "Record cold sweeps South Florida" - the writer is credited as "Robert Samuels, Associated Press." The problem is that Samuels works for the Herald. It's a small mistake, but how are readers supposed to trust anything in the paper when a simple thing like a byline is screwed up?

The second lapse is a little more serious.

I've lived in South Florida for many years and have experienced cold weather more than once.

The cold weather we've experienced in the past few days was and is a major story.

But as we all know, every time the mercury dips below 65, every TV station in town leads their newscasts with stories with titles like "Arctic Blast" or "Polar Plunge."

Those stories are more often than not accompanied by video shot as commuters get off the trains at the Government Center Metro Rail station. Why? Because it's easy and requires no thought or imagination. The videographer stands in one spot and hits the record button and in a few minutes he's got all the pictures he needs. It's like shooting fish in a barrel. It's something I expect from Miami TV station news.

In Miami, when it comes to TV news, if your expectations are set low, you're almost never disappointed.

But it's not something I want to see or expect from the Miami Herald.

The Herald's executive editor, Anders Gyllenhaal, reminds readers on a regular basis that the Herald is loaded with talented people.

So, that made it all the more disappointing to see the slide show that went with the cold weather story, loaded with ho-hum pictures of commuters arriving at the downtown Metro Rail station.

Perhaps there was a lack of communication between the assignment desk and Herald staff photographer Carlos Guerrero. Or perhaps Carlos just wasn't feeling inspired this morning.

In any event, it appears that Carlos drove down to the government center, attached a long lens to his camera, stood in one spot for 5 or 10 minutes and shot pictures of bundled-up commuters getting off an escalator; one right after the other.

The resulting pictures showed a complete lack of thought or imagination and certainly didn't show readers anything they haven't seen hundreds of times before.

Had Carlos shot the same pictures for a college photojournalism course, he would have been given a big, fat F.

There are some in the newspaper business who think that pictures are great for plugging holes. If that's the case, then Carlos' pictures succeeded.

But then there are some who think that news pictures - like the words in a story - should inform and enlighten readers.

In that respect, the pictures shot by Carlos Guerrero this morning failed miserably.

So, if no one at the Herald cares any longer; why should the readers?

Damn, it's cold!

Nothing inspires a "fashionista" like a little cold weather.
I was out bright and early this morning trying to document a cold snap - the likes of which we haven't felt here in South Florida for a long, long time.

I spent the morning on Lincoln Road on Miami Beach and watched as sellers set up for the Antique Market.

Despite a temperature at 6:30am that hovered at 32 degrees, I wasn't able to spot any ice floes, and certainly no snow.

Miami New Times has posted more of my pix in an online slide show here.

You're out Denis!

South Florida's worst politician - AKA Mayor Carlos Alvarez - today shipped chief of staff and long-time confidante Denis Morales back to the Miami-Dade police department.

The move bore an eerie resemblance to a classic scene from The Godfather when Michael Corleone demotes his Consigliere, Tom Hagen:

Tom: Maybe I could help.

Michael: You're out Tom.

It took Alvarez a full month to finally take action against Morales, who was caught stealing from the county working a second job while collecting his full county salary.

Denis Morales, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez's chief of staff and longtime confidante, is being moved back to the county police department following Miami Herald revelations that he worked a second job on county time in Panama.
[...]
Morales, who made $206,783 as the chief of staff, [which is more than the governor of Florida makes] will take a significant pay cut.

As a police sergeant, Morales' annual pay will be $77,492.

Alvarez's re-assignment of Morales comes just one day after the Herald reported that a referendum to recall the mayor had received the support of some county unions.

But that's probably just a coincidence.

Where's Carlos Alvarez Jr.? UPDATED

It's been over a year since Carlos Alvarez Jr. - the son of Miami-Dade mayor Carlos Alvarez - was released from state prison in Oct. 2008 after serving a 13½ year stretch for kidnapping and a series of violent sexual assaults he committed in 1994.

I was going through some of my older posts today and clicked on Alvarez Jr's FDLE link to see if it had been updated.

And I was surprised to see that the state, is indeed, keeping tabs on young Carlito, who's still classified as a "sexual predator."

They've posted a new, updated mug shot. In it, Carlos has lost that prison buzz cut in favor of a more trendy and stylish do.

And Carlos has moved from his former digs near Bird Road and Ludlam.

According to the FDLE he's now living at 914 SW 140th Ave.

A check of an aerial image shows a single family dwelling smack in the middle of a densely-packed neighborhood.


According to the Miami-Dade County property appraiser's Website, young Carlos' new crib is a 1500 sq. ft., 4 bedroom, 2 bath house that was bought in April, 2009 for $220,000.

The owner is listed as a Carlos Alvarez with a different mailing address.

Carlos' home is a short drive - about 2.5 miles - to W.R. Thomas Middle School and an equally short drive - about 3 miles - to the Zora Neale Hurston Elementary School.

But we don't have to worry about Carlito accosting any school kids because at night he's probably living under the bridge on the Julia Tuttle. Right?

Puking in the New Year with the Miami PD

I don't do New Year's eve.

I like to think of it as amateur night.

Besides, my drinking days are a distant memory.

And when I found out that AMC was showing back to back episodes of the Three Stooges, I started looking for something more exciting.

I grabbed my camera and booked a ride-along with the Miami Police Department in Coconut Grove.

Miami New Times has posted a slideshow of the pictures here.

Happy (belated) New Year!