By KYLA THORPE
David Letterman announced this week that he will be retiring from the “Late Show with David Letterman” in 2015.
This will definitely be a big change, as Letterman has been the longest serving late-night host in TV history, marking 32 years in 2014.
“Late Night” hosts are the fun journalists to me. They have to keep up with current events, and present it to their audiences with a humorous or interesting twist on things. Whether late-night talk show hosts began their careers in journalism or not, they have contributed significantly to the journalism world, staying honest with their opinions and keeping society informed.
The only thing that late-night hasn’t had yet is a female host.
Recently, talk show host and comedian, Chelsea Handler announced that she would be leaving her show “Chelsea Lately” on E! Network. Many of her adoring fans were afraid that she would disappear forever, but now there are rumors that she might possibly replace Letterman for his coveted late-night spot.
She might get it. If we’re following the trend of late-night, then she probably won’t. Handler would do well though. She’s funny, honest and knows what she’s talking about. There aren’t many women out there who could do late-night like she could.
Her show on E! Network was already late-night, but moving to a prime-time network would raise her to the top.
This would definitely be a shake-up, still. While she is adored by both men and women, late-night talk shows are predominately male. If she did get a slot, it would better represent a diversified journalism world. It’s not like the only editorial writers we respect are male. Late-night TV should start to reflect that.
It’ll be interesting to see where she eventually ends up. Her fans can at least be comforted that though she will be leaving E! Network, she’s not leaving television for good.