Matt from 37signals admires Conan O’Brien’s handling of last year’s late-night-show drama, in which he turned what could’ve been a major career setback (getting bumped by Leno) into a career-solidifying opportunity.
When you think of great writing lessons, you usually don’t think of late-night TV hosts. But Conan O’Brien’s “People of Earth” letter was a pitch-perfect response to a crisis situation. It became big news and set the tone for everything that happened afterwards in the NBC/Conan/Leno debacle. And it offers lessons for anyone who needs to put a public face on a shitty situation.
On Writing: How Conan wrote his pitch-perfect “People of Earth” letter – 37signals.