As Emmys host, Jimmy Fallon aims not to offend

Actor and talk show host Jimmy Fallon introduces New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg after his election victory in New York November 3, 2009.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Conan O'Brien and David Letterman have provided a valuable lesson for Jimmy Fallon, the comedian told journalists Friday. "The one thing I've learned from (O'Brien and Letterman) is (that) hosting 'Late Night' is a one-way ticket to not hosting 'The Tonight Show," the comedian quipped.

Fallon's line was a rare semi-jab at NBC, the network that airs his show. At the Television Critics Association summer press tour, where the networks present their program lineups, he took part in a combo panel for his late-night show and the 62nd primetime Emmys (which Fallon is hosting). His running theme was that he's a nice guy.

"I want the TV Academy to be happy, I want (producer) Don Mischner to be happy," Fallon said of his upcoming Emmy stint, adding that "I don't want to make anybody uncomfortable" with his jokes.

"You have to relate to different people as well," Fallon said about appealing to the wider Emmy audience. "I gotta get you to laugh and you to laugh and you to laugh -- they don't all laugh at the same thing."