Brave Thinkers

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Name: Jeff Zucker
Job: President of NBC Universal
Why he’s brave: He retained Jay Leno and moved late-night TV to prime time.
Quote: “The only sure way to declare defeat is to say, 'I’m going to keep doing it the same old way.'”

Zucker wooed Jay Leno to stay with the network when his run on TheTonight Show ended, and to move into prime time. Leno’s new program will compete directly with popular scripted dramas like CSI—a huge gamble for a talk show. But if cheap and easily produced fare like Leno’s works in prime time, it could completely change the dynamics of network television. Or it could bomb.

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