Johnny Carson would be proud

Unlike our friend Mike Leach, former coach of Texas Tech, Conan O'Brien knows how to handle a dispute with his bosses.

Earlier this afternoon, Conan issued a statement announcing that he would not be part of The Tonight Show if it was forced to move to 12:05 a.m. Eastern time.

In his address to the "People of Earth," he stated the change would be damaging to the more than 50-year-old franchise .

"But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction," the statement said. "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."

And the statement ended with a dash of humor: "Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it's always been that way.
Yours,
Conan"

Not only is Conan correct, but it's also showing the challenge the all media face. Once able to dominate television, networks and their local affiliates are facing many challenges. More media niches mean more choices for all consumers.

But Conan is right for trying to preserve an American television icon. Only time will tell if he's successful.

Media Monday: Will you pay for online content?

Perhaps the biggest question being debated in the newspaper industry today is would people be willing to pay for content online.

The model for print newspapers has been that about 20 percent of the revenue comes from charging for the newspaper and 80 percent comes from advertising.

But the online model now depends nearly 100 percent on advertising revenue.

A recent study about the issue by an organization called ITZ/Belden Interactive indicates that paywalls are not a panacea.

Of the few newspapers who are charging for content, they have only 2.4% of the number of their print subscribers paying for online content.

And when you do the math, the revenue generated falls far short of the revenue made by advertising or even the print subscriptions generate by these newspapers, I imagine.

The Wall Street Journal does charge for some online content, but I wouldn't consider them the "normal" newspaper. Although they are expanding their coverage to compete more with USA Today and the national edition of the New York Times, I imagine most people are paying for access to financial information that only the Journal provides.

Unfortunately for those advocating charging for online content, the "genie," as they say has already been let out of the bottle.

This survey shows and the future will show that people are not willing to pay for online content.

Going out with a (sponsored) bang

When Texas Stadium is demolished, there will be a sponsor for the event.

For a mere $150,000 Kraft Foods gets to call it a "Cheddar Explosion."

Half the money goes to charities selected by Kraft and the other half to charities selected by the city of Irving.

According to the contract for the sponsorship, the demolition must occur between March 14 and April 18.

Kraft claims it will offer the city of Irving the equivalent in $1 million in publicity (including this blog).

No word on whether there will be vast amount of macaroni and cheese planted inside the stadium for a real cheddar explosion.

Mayor, newspaper publisher get in fist fight!

No, it's not myself and Mayor Debra McCartt. It's the mayor of Gallup, N.M., and the publisher of the Gallup newspaper. (Click here for story from a New Mexico television station.)

Seems they were both leaving a local bank when they started having words and part of the dust up is on video.

There appears to be a longstanding feud between the newspaper and the mayor, who the publisher calls "a thug."

I don't think it would come to that here. Mayor McCartt and I get along and if we didn't, I think we'd battle over tiddlywinks or Scrabble, not duke it out in the parking lot of Amarillo National Bank.

Only 238 days to kickoff

Last night's BCS National Championship was an absolute letdown to what had been an above-average bowl season and a below-average regular system.

There weren't many highlights for either team in last night's contest.

Colt McCoy went out on the fifth snap of the game and the backup quarterback just couldn't get it going, despite a pretty good second half.

But the most disappointing part of the game is when Alabama chose to run up the score with less than two minutes left. That was a classless, "Leech-esque" kind of move.

And my goodness, did someone tell Nick Saban his team WON the game? He looks like it would kill him to smile.

College football is the best sport, period. No other sport brings the passion and excitement of college football. Too bad last night's game didn't show this.

But the good new: only 238 days until the 2010 season begins. Let the countdown begin!

And the winner is .....

One of the most asked questions I've gotten since moving to Amarillo seven years ago is: "Do you miss Georgia (which is where I moved to Amarillo from)?

My response: "Only during football season."

While I certainly embrace almost everything about the Texas life, it's been hardest to switch alliances to new teams and to a new conference.

In the South, SEC football is (almost) a religion. The truth is people will show up in the worst weather on Saturday for a game, but if the weather isn't perfect on Sunday, the church pews will be half full.

My favorite football book is about the University of Alabama: Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer : A Road Trip into the Heart of Fan Mania by Warren St. John.

St. John is from Alabama but attended Columbia University in New York. He grew up an Alabama fan and met the legendary coach, Paul "Bear" Bryant shortly before his death, thanks to a friend of his father who worked for a sponsor of Bryant's weekly television show.

Bryant is a legend in the South and Alabama, but when St. John put a picture of him in his room at Columbia, his friends asked: "Who's that, your grandfather?"

What prompted St. John to write the book - chronicling a season with RV tailgaters who attend every Alabama football game - was a short television news segment interviewing a couple who had one of these RVs.

They had attended many games in a row and the interviewer asked if they had ever come close to missing one.

"Yes," they said. "Our daugther scheduled her wedding on a game day in the fall. We told her not to, but she did any way."

"It worked out," they said. "We were able to make the reception."

Deep South football addiction is intense. Alabama football addiction is insane.

Which brings me to tonight's game.

If both teams play their best, Alabama wins. The team with the fewest turnovers will win. I think it will come down to the kicking game.

If Alabama wins, it's the fourth straight BCS championship for an SEC team. And it would put the SEC at 6 of the 12 BCS championships since the inception of this system.

If Texas wins, it's the Longhorn's second championship in five years and it would put the Big 12 at second place in BCS championships with three (ACC , Big East, Pac 10 and Big 10 have one each.)

My pick: Alabama 27, Texas 24.

Thursday's Best Bet: Area Museums

Ok, I'm back on line with Thursday's Best Bets.

Again, the reason I started doing this is to show that there really is a lot of quality entertainment and attractions in Amarillo.

So if I make a suggestion and you attend and don't like it, I'll give you your money back - in the form of a newspaper subscription credit!

There aren't a lot of events in the upcoming week, so I thought I would remind you that we have some tremendous museums in the area.

Many people are aware of the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum. It's the largest museum in the state devoted to Texas history. And it's first class. A friend of mine from Washington, D.C., recently visited and commented on the quality of the museum - and in case you didn't know, Washington has some pretty good museums as well.

Perhaps a lesser-known, but equally fun museum is the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame and Museum. The recent renovations include some great interactive exhibits for the children and the upstairs exhibit on the Hall of Fame members gives an excellent background not only on the quarter horse, but American history as well.

And although I haven't visited the Citadelle Art Foundation in Canadian, I hear that is worth the trip as well.

Here's a list of other museums in the area that comes from our weekly Get Out entertainment section published on Friday's and online.

Amarillo College Natural History Museum Ordway Hall, Room 116, 22nd Avenue and Washington Street. 9am-5pm Mon.-Thu. or by appointment. 806-371-5081.

Amarillo Museum of Art 2200 S. Van Buren St. 10am-5pm Tue.-Wed. and Fri., 10am-9pm Thu., 1-5pm Sat.-Sun. Free. 806-371-5050, 806-371-5392 weekends, www.amarilloart.org.

American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum 2601 E. Interstate 40. 9am-5pm Mon.-Sat. Admission fee, AQHA members free. 806-376-5181, www.aqha.com.

Amarillo Railroad Museum 13000 E. U.S. Highway 60, past the airport before Highland Park, First Thu. of month, 7:30pm, second and fourth Sat., 10am-3pm Appointments are available. 806-335-3333. www.amarillorailroadmuseum.com.

Buttel Railroad Museum One mile south of Amarillo city limits. Rail cars include a caboose, box car and ice box reefer. Call for an appointment. 806-670-1314.

Harrington House 1600 S. Polk St. Tours 10am-12:30pm Tue. and Thu., June-Dec. Free; reservations required. 806-374-5490.

Kwahadi Museum of the American Indian and Performance Center 9151 E. Interstate 40. Noon-5pm Thu.-Sat., 1-5pm Sun., open until 10pm show nights. $3 adults, $1.50 children. 806-335-3175. www.kwahadi.com.

Texas Pharmacy Museum 1300 S. Coulter St., inside Texas Tech University School of Pharmacy. Guided tours 1-4pm Mon.-Fri., or by appointment. Free. 806-356-4000, ext. 268.

Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum 2503 Fourth Ave., Canyon. 9am-5pm Mon.-Sat., 1-6pm Sun. $10 adults, $9 seniors, $5 children ages 4-12. 806-651-2244, www.panhandleplains.org.

Armstrong County Museum 120 N. Trice St., Claude. Noon-4pm Tue.-Sat. Free. 806-226-2187. Art gallery features works by local and area artists. www.armstrongcountymuseum.org.

Carson County Square House Museum Texas Highway 207 and Fifth Avenue, Panhandle. 9am-5pm Mon.-Sat., 1-5pm Sun. Free, donations accepted. 806-537-3524. www.squarehousemuseum.org.

The Citadelle Art Foundation 520 Nelson, Canadian. 11am-4pm Thurs.-Sat., 1-4pm Sun. $10 for adults, $5 for ages 65 and older, free for younger than 18. 806-323-8899. www.thecitadelle.org.

Collingsworth County Museum Art Center 824 East Ave., Wellington. 9am-5pm Mon.-Fri., or by appointment. 806-447-5327.

Coronado Museum 567 Cedar, Liberal, Kan. 9am-5pm Tue.-Sat., 1-5pm Sun. 620-624-7624.
Deaf Smith County HistoricalMuseum 400 Sampson St., Hereford. 10am-noon, 1-5pm Mon.-Sat. Free; donations accepted. 806-363-7070.

Devil’s Rope Museum 100 Kingsley St., McLean. 9am-5 p.m Mon.-Fri., 10am-4pm Sat. Closed Sun. Free; donations accepted. 806-779-2225, barbwiremuseum@centramedia.net.

Eastern New Mexico University Museums Blackwater Draw Museum, Roosevelt County Historical Museum, Natural History Museum, Miles Mineral Museum, Miles Anthropological Museum. Hours vary. ENMU campus in Portales, N.M. 575-562-2202, 575-562-2592, 575-562-2174, 575-562-2103, www.enmu.edu.

Floyd County Historical Museum 105 E. Missouri St., Floydada. 10am-5pm Mon.-Fri., or by appointment. Free. 806-983-2415.

Freedom Museum USA 600 N. Hobart St., Pampa. Noon-4pm Tue.-Sat. Free; donations accepted. 806-669-6066.

Herzstein Memorial Museum South Second and Walnut streets, Clayton, N.M. 10am-5pm Tue.-Sat. Free; donations accepted. 575-374-2977, 575-374-9639, www.herzsteinmuseum.org.

Hutchinson County Museum 618 N. Main St., Borger. 9am-5pm Mon.-Fri., 11am-4:30pm Sat. Free; donations accepted. 806-273-0130.

J.B. Buchanan Windmill Park Texas Highway 207, south of Spearman. Free. www.spearman.org/windmillhistory.html.

Julian Bivins Museum Old Tascosa Courthouse, Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch. 9am-5pm daily. Free. 806-534-2211.

Lake Meredith Aquatic & Wildlife Museum 104 N. Robey Ave., Fritch. Noon-5pm Mon.-Fri., 10am-5pm Sat., or by appointment. 806-857-2458.

McLean/Alanreed Area Museum 116 N. Main. 10am-noon, 1-4pm Tue.-Fri. Free; donations accepted. 806-779-2731.

Mesalands Dinosaur Museum 211 E. Laughlin St., Tucumcari, N.M. 10am-5pm Tue.-Sat. Admission fee. 575-461-3466, www.mesalands.edu.

Muleshoe Heritage Center West American Boulevard, Muleshoe. Mon.-Fri. Free guided tours. 806-272-5873, www.muleshoeheritagefoundation.org.

Museum of the Plains 1200 N. Main St., Perryton. 9am-5pm Mon.-Fri., 10am-5pm Sat., 1-5pm Sun. Free; donations accepted. 806-435-6400, www.museumoftheplains.com.

No Man’s Land Museum 207 W. Sewell St., Goodwell, Okla. 10am-4pm Tues.-Sat. Free. 806-580-349-2670, www.nmlhs.org.

Old Jailhouse Museum 415 Main St., Silverton. 9am-5pm Mon.-Fri. Free. 806-823-2123.
Old Mobeetie Jail Museum Courthouse Square, Mobeetie. 1-5pm daily, except Wed. Free; donations accepted. 806-845-2028, www.mobeetie.com.

Pioneer West Museum 204 N. Madden, Shamrock. 1-5pm Tue.-Sat., Sun. by appointment. Free; donations accepted. 806-256-2416.

River Valley Pioneer Museum 118 N. Second St., Canadian. 9am-noon and 1-4pm Tue.-Fri; 1-3pm Sat. 806-323-6548, www.rivervalleymuseum.org.

Roberts County Museum 120 E. Commercial St., Miami. 10am-noon, 1-5pm Tue-Fri. Sat.-Mon. by appointment at 806-868-5811. Free; donations accepted. 806-868-3291.

Saints’ Roost Museum 610 E. Harrington St., Clarendon. 1-5pm Wed.-Sun. Free; donations accepted. 806-874-2546, www.saintsroost.org.

Santa Fe Steam Locomotive No. 5000, The Madame Queen available for viewing at Southeast Second Avenue and Lincoln Street. Guided tours are available from the Railroad Artifact Preservation Society. A $25 donation is suggested. Call 806-674-0472.

Stationmaster’s House Museum 30 S. Townsend St., Spearman. 1-5pm Tue.-Sat., or by appointment. Free, donations accepted. 806-659-3008.

Swisher County Archives and Museum 127 S.W. Second St., Tulia. 10am-noon, 1-4pm Tue.-Sat. Free; donations accepted. 806-995-2819.

Tucumcari Historical Museum 416 S. Adams St., Tucumcari, N.M. 8am-5pm Mon.-Sat. Admission fee. 575-461-4201, museum@cityoftucumcari.com.

White Deer Land Museum 112 S. Cuyler St., Pampa. 1-4pm Tue.-Sat. New annex building open to public, featuring the Red River War & Settlement collection. BRA TALK exhibit through Oct. 15. Free; donations accepted. 806-669-8041, wdlmuseum@graycch.com.

Window on the Plains Museum 1820 S. Dumas Ave., Dumas. 10am-5pm Mon.-Sat. Free; donations accepted. 806-935-3113, www.dumasmuseumandartcenter.org.

Woody Guthrie Folk Museum Center of Pampa Jam sessions weekly 6:30-9:30pm Fri. 320 S. Cuyler St., Pampa. 1-4pm Thu.-Sat., or by appointment. Free, donations accepted. 806-669-3241, 806-665-1180, 806-206-2860, www.woodyguthrie-pampatx.org.

Wolf Creek Heritage Museum Texas Highway 305 and Main Street, Lipscomb. 10am-4pm Mon.-Fri., 2-4pm Sun. Free; donations accepted. 806-852-2123, www.wolfcreekheritagemuseum.com.

XIT Museum 108 E. Fifth St., Dalhart. 9am-5pm Tue.-Sat. Free; donations accepted. 806-244-5390, www.xitmuseum.com.