Jay Leno's Primetime Debut

Jay Leno made TV history last week as the debut of the new "Jay Leno Show" on NBC marked the first time any big Network ran a series five nights a week during primetime hours. Anticipation for the new show was markedly high as more than 18 million viewers tuned in for the big debut.

The show's ratings dropped throughout the week, but even though Leno faces stiff competition in the ten o'clock hour- from shows like "CSI Miami" and "The Mentalist"- NBC hopes that the low cost of the show will help generate higher profits. "If you've watched promos for this new show 'Trauma,' we can do three shows in what it takes to blow up the helicopter in the promo," Leno joked in a conference call last week.

"The Jay Leno Show" features some of the tonight show's most popular elements from "The Tonight Show," including "Jaywalking" and Jay's opening monologue, but the new show intends to focus more on conversation and comedy. Some critics have dubbed the show a near repeat of "The Tonight Show," but USC students seemed impressed by and excited about Leno's new changes.

For more reviews of "The Jay Leno Show" click here.

Discovering My Online Identity

I know you’ve done it. In the privacy of your bedroom, you're all alone, you’re feeling curious, a little bored and all of a sudden you take the plunge and... google yourself. Prompted by a recent class on Online Media I started to question how my name looked online. I've always believed in the importance of maintaining a positive reputation. But what happens when your reputation is out of your hands and suddenly in placed the hands of anyone with computer access? Well, my discovery begins...

This tale starts out tragically. As I took to google to type in my little anonymous name I expected maybe some articles on me from high school or facebook information. Instead I found wretched and devastating news: my name is famous... and not by my doing.

As I frantically considered the consequences of this finding, I started examining this "other" Jessica Hagy (seen on the right) and realized that much to my dismay she is actually a hilarious and talented writer. Her sketches have really insightful observations on pop culture, politics and other topics. With the taste of bitterness still fresh I trekked onwards on my online adventure and got more specific.

That's when my information started trickling in. My online footprint is pretty lacking, but it did give me-pretending to be a judgmental stranger- some input. The most informational results were my facebook and twitter accounts. Links to these accounts were uncomfortably personal and I never really considered the fact that keeping my twitter account open means that every single person on the internet knows when I'm walking my dog. My facebook account is private but I still have close to two thousand friends (and I just weeded out everyone I didn't know this summer... which leaves me wondering how is it possible to know 2,000 people?!) I've often considered deleting my facebook but in the end I cannot break the sick addiction that consumes me. Also, how would I keep in touch with the people that aren't quite phone-conversation-worthy? You know who those people are: the kid that grew up on your street that you haven't seen in 8 years, the high school crush that is on year 6 in college and worsens with age (much to your happiness), the frenemy you love to stalk that's living a fabulous life abroad. Isn't it just integral that I know what these very important people did last night and what their favorite movies are? Definitely.

In the end, after perusing a few other search engines, I realized that having a famous namesake has some perks. If anyone googles me, even with specific information, this bifocaled name-twin pops up in every single result. My 8 results are buried under her accolades and that's just fine with me because hopefully my less flattering results will be buried too. I was surprised at how little information there was on the web about me but I was also quite relieved. The juiciest bits I found were pictures of me as a Debutante in 2006... no need to scream with excitement. Of course I'm devising ways to outshine the "other" Jessica Hagy and claim the throne as the most important, but until then I'll live happily as a slightly anonymous online identity.