• All I ask of you is one thing: please don’t be cynical. I hate cynicism – it’s my least favorite quality and it doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.
• Conan O’Brien • Concluding his final episode on “The Tonight Show” with a heartfelt touch more powerful than a million “The More You Know” promo ads could muster. Conan’s to-be-aired show reportedly features a ton of guests, heartfelt moments and the host finally coming around and saying nice things about his to-be-former bosses, even though he claims he could say whatever he wanted to on the last episode. He’s handled this whole situation like a prince. We admire the guy greatly. Team Conan! source

• This is the greatest image we’ve ever seen. Good show, @studionashvegas, good show. This should be their logo until the end of time or at least until Jeff Zucker quits.

• This clip cost NBC $1.5 million to produce. It’s the kind of thing Conan can get away with because 1) He’s a genius 2) He doesn’t care about NBC and 3) He’s smarter than the people getting rid of him. NBC’s reaction? They pulled the clip from Hulu and NBC.com. But strangely, it’s on YouTube. We can’t wait for tonight’s show. source

• In the end, Conan was appreciative of the steps NBC made to take care of his staff and crew, and decided to supplement the severance they were getting out of his own pocket. Now he just wants to get back on the air as quickly as possible.
• Gavin Polone • Conan O’Brien’s manager, regarding the deal NBC reportedly struck with the comedian last night. Details are kinda sketchy at the moment, but they likely include $32 million for Conan, $12 million for his staff, a non-disparagement clause, and an agreement to stay off the air or other shows until the fall. Pretty much everything that was expected from the press. source

• In case you were wondering why everyone seemed amazed that Bill Gates joined Twitter yesterday, here’s why. It’s a fresh reminder that Twitter is just as susceptible to calculated publicity campaigns as any other medium. It just looks viral. That said, we’re not here to scold, we’re here to praise a guy who gives most of his money to charity because he’s too much of a nerd to be anything but our modern-day Andrew Carnegie. Larry Ellison is probably snorting coke off a hooker in a hotel (not room, hotel) he rented out. Carlos Slim’s wasting his money on bad investments like Circuit City and The New York Times. Warren Buffett’s probably making Jiffy Pop in his modest Nebraska home. But our Bill is using his money to help make the world better. We salute you, dude. source

• NBC execs pinned the blame for the contract dispute directly on Conan. So, let’s say you’re a late-night host treated like crap by your network. They damage your trust and you are basically forced to walk. But you want to make sure all of your employees get a severance package that doesn’t suck, because, hey, it’s the recession. Would you pose the situation like this?: “It was Conan’s decision to leave NBC that resulted in nearly 200 of his staffers being out of work.” We sure wouldn’t. In case you were wondering: NBC is run by greedy douchebags. source

• Updated: Big money for Conan. Others, not so much. Conan’s reportedly close to a $40 million deal to get out of his contract, but he wants more than the $12 million in severance being offered for his employees (reportedly $600,000 more). Before you think that severance is a ton of money, we just did some math:

How many employees does he have?:

• 200the number of employees Conan has, roughly source

The way that splits up:

• $4.5
  million the amount that would go to executive producer Jeff Ross
• $7.5
  million the amount that would go to everybody else. Jesus.

How this breaks down for Conan’s people:

• split Based on the number given by MTV today, that’s exactly $37,500 a piece per employee. Not too huge at all, guys.
• seniority Our number doesn’t account for salaries of sidekicks like Andy Richter and Max Weinberg, nor seniority.
• taxes It’s also before the 40% or whatever they take out of severance before they give it to you. It’s kind of a raw deal. source

The silver lining:

• In the end, Conan was appreciative of the steps NBC made to take care of his staff and crew, and decided to supplement the severance they were getting out of his own pocket. Now he just wants to get back on the air as quickly as possible.
• Gavin Polone • Conan O’Brien’s manager, regarding the deal NBC reportedly struck with the comedian last night. Conan’s not only a rich man, but apparently he’s a prince, because he’s taking care of his workers when he doesn’t have to! Good show, old red-headed chap! source

• Basically, CBS has decided that it could cost too much to pay a lawyer to figure out if they can release these films – or even turn them over to Benny’s fans and family for release – and so it has decided to simply abandon them, sealing them back up in the vault forever.
• Boing Boing blogger Cory Doctorow • Regarding CBS’ decision to block the release of a set of old Jack Benny masters to the late comic’s fan club, for purposes of remastering. The network blocked the decision despite the footage being public domain, the fan club getting consent from Benny’s family, promising to pay for the remastering themselves, and being genuinely good-intentioned. These 25 episodes were thought lost forever. Now they’ll be locked away in some vault instead. Lame. source

• The second they turn into superheroes is when it starts getting good. Jeff Zucker is portrayed exactly like the kind of jerk he should be, and Coco is shown with a gaggle of supporters. Awesome.