Quote:
SIMON HOUPT AND ANDREW RYAN
From Saturday's Globe and Mail Last updated on Saturday, Oct. 03, 2009 03:32AM EDT
The late-night talk-show host revealed Thursday night that he was the victim of an extortion attempt threatening to expose his affair with one or more Late Show female staffers. But Mr. Letterman's career isn't headed for the gutter.
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10 This is the best-ever Stupid Human Trick
As an investigative producer for CBS News, Mr. Letterman's alleged extortionist, Robert (Joe) Halderman, is intimately familiar with crime and punishment, yet when it came to the blackmail payout, he asked for a $2-million personal cheque, prosecutors say, one of the most traceable forms of currency in the world.
9 He's no Eliot Spitzer
When the one-time New York governor admitted his serial infidelity last year, he did so on a Monday, allowing the story to build through the weekly news cycle. But in discussing his own sins with viewers on a Thursday night, Mr. Letterman got his side of the story out just before the weekend, drastically reducing the number of reporters who will be chasing the story for the next two days.
8 He's the Tylenol of Late-Night Hosts
Experts say Mr. Letterman's mea culpa was textbook crisis management, allowing him to save both his own brand and that of CBS. "He was open, honest, forthright and transparent," said Harlan Loeb, head of the U.S. crisis management branch of public relations company Edelman. "From a reputational perspective, he had a fiduciary duty to CBS, and he made a clear effort to align his remarks with the enterprise risk he created for the company."
7 If the scandal continues, the world economy won't survive
Office workers across North America hit Twitter, Facebook and other social-networking sites yesterday to discuss the scandal, crippling productivity just as the United States announced another 263,000 lost jobs last month. Sure the scandal is good for tabloids, but you can't sell 'em if nobody's got the money to buy 'em.
6 He has friends in high places
If coverage of the affair turns ugly, his pals will rally to his side. Among his closest showbiz buddies: Don Rickles, Billy Crystal, Madonna and, yes, Oprah. The lead guest on Monday's Late Show is Steve Martin, who will undoubtedly help him defuse the situation. And if all else fails, he has the undying support of possibly the most influential man in TV today: Regis Philbin.
5 X ratings make the best ratings
Since the launch of the new TV season in mid-September, Mr. Letterman has steadily bested his late-night competitor, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, in Nielsen audience ratings, averaging five million viewers during the first week. Mr. O'Brien, meanwhile, is averaging 2½ million. If anything, Monday night's show will likely push Mr. Letterman's numbers past the seven million mark he reached for his mid-September broadcast with U.S. President Barack Obama.
4 Ketchup
Because it goes with everything.
3 Folksy humour makes scandals seem innocent
In making his Thursday-night confession, even Mr. Late Night seemed surprised by the audience response. "Why are you laughing?" he asked his studio audience after revealing details of his "creepy" affairs. He also got big laughs when he said: "If you know anything about me, I am just a towering mass of Lutheran Midwestern guilt."
2 Late-night viewers are more forgiving, or at least sleepier
Remember Hugh Grant? In July, 1995, the British actor chose The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as his first public appearance after his arrest for soliciting a street prostitute in Los Angeles. "What were you thinking?" asked Mr. Leno. Tonight Show ratings soared and Mr. Grant's career resumed (more or less).
1 Come to think of it,
what exactly did he do wrong?
Mr. Letterman's admitted to having an affair with co-workers, and apparently before his marriage to long-time girlfriend Regina Lasko last March. "If it was a consensual relationship, he's not in trouble for sexual harassment," said lawyer Deborah Katz on CNN yesterday. "Poor judgment, undoubtedly, but not legal trouble."
