WGA STRIKE COVERAGE: Conan to Pay Staffers Himself, Tonight Show Layoffs Friday

Late Night with Conan O’Brien Host to Pick Up Tab for Some 80 Nonwriting Staffers; The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Staffers Not So Lucky

By Ben Grossman -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/29/2007 3:50:00 PM

Conan O’Brien became the latest late-night talk-show host to pick up the tab to keep his staffers in their jobs during the Writers Guild of America strike, while as of now, nonwriting staff from The Tonight Show with Jay Leno will be laid off Friday.

NBC’s 12:35 a.m. Late Night with Conan O’Brien host will pick up the salaries of his approximately 80 nonwriting staffers out of his own pocket for the time being.

David Letterman’s Worldwide Pants is doing the same thing for nonwriting staffers of both his and Craig Ferguson’s shows -- The Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, respectively.

For full coverage of the strike, click here.