Lorne Michaels, Seth Meyers, and Ken Auletta

On Tuesday, March 2, at the W Hotel in Union Square, the Newhouse School hosted a conversation between Ken Auletta, Lorne Michaels, and Seth Meyers. Michaels, the creator and executive producer of Saturday Night Live, and Meyers, the head writer (and anchor for “Weekend Update”), talked about the weekly grind of putting on one of America’s funniest television shows. Michaels is known for being a tough boss (and the inspiration for Alec Baldwin’s character on “30 Rock”).

“I would say,” said Meyers, “that the way Lorne goes about getting the best writing out of somebody is to point out that the current writing could be better.”

But like a good boss, Michaels was diplomatic about his talent. When pressed by Auletta on which comedian or skit made him laugh the most, he responded: “It doesn’t sort of work out that way. For me, the best of the show is when you see a performer and a writer in perfect sympathy.”