HA HA, NY TIMES: As Furor Over Palin Joke Rages, Letterman Rises in the Ratings

[wndycty]

As Furor Over Palin Joke Rages, Letterman Rises in the Ratings
By BILL CARTER

Sarah Palin was hardly David Letterman’s best friend the past couple of weeks, though she did accept his apology Tuesday for what she had labeled a tasteless joke about her daughter and which Mr. Letterman described as “beyond flawed.” But the Alaska governor has surely done the CBS late-night star some big favors in the ratings.

Monday night, when Mr. Letterman offered his extended apology to Governor Palin and her family, he had his best night yet in the continuing late-night competition against NBC’s new “Tonight” show star, Conan O’Brien. In preliminary national ratings, Mr. Letterman pulled in 700,000 more viewers than Mr. O’Brien Monday night, 3.9 million to 3.2 million, his biggest margin yet over his new competitor. Mr. Letterman routinely trailed the former “Tonight” host Jay Leno by a million viewers or more.

But as he has since his start on June 1, Mr. O’Brien was dominant among the younger viewers most television networks prefer — because most advertisers do — winning by margins exceeding 100 per cent in categories like viewers between the ages of 18 and 34.

Mr. O’Brien’s lead in the most-watched category, adults 18 to 49, shrank a bit to 30 percent (it had been as much as 60 percent) and Mr. Letterman was most competitive in the category of adults 25 to 54, where he trailed Mr. O’Brien by just one-tenth of a ratings point.
-snip-

Mr. Letterman planned a special Top 10 list: “Top Ten Things Overheard at the Fire David Letterman Rally.”
-end-

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/16/as-furor-over-palin-joke-rages-letterman-rises-in-the-ratings/

[bbernardini]

1. When is that "rally", anyway? nt

[Just Saying]

5. Yesterday?

I'm not sure, but Big Ed just had some pictures of neocons with signs outside Letterman's show.

I love Letterman and I'm glad he's doing well. I'm sure it helps that Conan is less conservative (not in the political sense) than Leno was. Conan has a younger audience and is probably losing some of the traditional Tonight Show crowd.

[kath]

23. Scheduled for today, I believe.

would be sweet if Dave showed some of the protesting morans on his show.
Looking forward to tonight's Top 10.

[Warren DeMontague]

2. I know. There's one person at DU, posting via multiple accounts, who is apparently really outraged.

Other than that, though, I'm having trouble believing too many people actually give a shit.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Critters2]

15. And another sockpuppet yesterday. Can't recall the name.

But almost certainly a sockpuppet.

[Warren DeMontague]

16. Oh, I would NEVER name names.

But suffice it to say this person(s) has a habit of posting incoherent gibberish and hard to decipher psychobabble woo-woo, and then going off the rails when the axiomatic, self-validating baloney being spouted is challenged in any way.

Um, so.. that should answer your question. :rofl:

[kath]

22. Is that the one going around pimping his/her own thread?

a real gem, that one.

[CitizenPatriot]

27. ran into them today:-)

can't miss that description:-)

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[LisaM]

3. I don't think Sarah Palin realizes who she's dealing with

I love Letterman, but he can be a bitter enemy.

[glinda]

4. When is Palin going to apologize for insinuating Letterman is a Pedophile????

When is Palin going to demand all the other comedians apologize. She wants Dave fired cuz he helped bring the truth out about her during the Elections. And when is there going to be a counter Rally that holds up signs with the other Palin Daughter jokes on them and WHO said them like Leno.

[mitchum]

9. Palin was only thinking about pedophilia because Father's Day is coming up

[Tempest]

13. Or for laughing at the Alaskan legislator battling breast cancer?

n/t

[glinda]

29. When hell freezes over I guess.

[nc4bo]

7. Letterman wins ;) nt

[monmouth]

8. There's an article up the page that shows six people..Hahaha....n/t

[opihimoimoi]

10. CHEAP WIN CATEGORY...anything to announce a winner....I won I won...Look ...I won....

The GOP is so hungry for anything to make them look good...they use Delusion in thinking they can once again snooker the American People..

They are so desperate for Heroes...they went for zitt butt.....

The GOP has been reduced from Pitt Bulls to ankle biter class....the morph is almost complete......they have come to be yappers and whiners....How Low can these dudes go??? I think much lower....this is gonna escalate....

They even manufacture wins.....cheap ones an all....

[Cha]

11. I love it! "Top Ten Things Heard AT

A Fire David Letterman rally"(:silly:)

Thanks for the news.

[Critters2]

12. My dad, a Leno devotee, had never seen him.

The combo of Conan and this brouhaha has turned my dad into a Letterman fan.

Keep whining, Palin! I'm sure Dave appreciates it!

[NightWatcher]

14. there are winners and there are losers. Palin is a loser

and Letterman has made a very long career skating around politics at two different networks and is an institution.

[nichomachus]

17. Never get into a feud

1. With someone who is on TV every night

2. Who tells jokes for a living

3. Who is smarter than you are.

4. Who is more likable than you are.

Jeez Louise, you think she would have learned from the Jim Kramer incident.

[TheCowsCameHome]

18. Sarah who?

[rufus dog]

19. Can someone help me out with Conan

A bit off subject, but what do people like about his show? I tried watching his original show multiple times and just didn't get it. Then last week I tried switching over and still the same to me. Lame sophomoric jokes, to me he comes across as a clown at the fraternity party.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

21. Same here......

I watched him at first, years ago, and found him uninteresting and not at all funny.

I hae no idea who finds him entertaining, but they're out there. Another plank in my "We Are Screwn" theory.................

[Danascot]

26. Conan isn't funny

He just mugs and does strange things with his limbs and body. He doesn't tell jokes ... apparently that's too old school. His skits are pointless and dumb. A complete waste of time.

[moondust]

20. I think most people know

that she's exploiting a dumb late night joke to get attention. She *may* also be trying to intimidate late night comedians who have found her to be a rich source of comedy material, i.e. implying self-censorship while waving the banner of "free speech."

[kath]

24. WOOT! Go Dave!

He will win, in multiple ways... He's only a brazillion times smarter than her.

[wndycty]

25. Self promoting kick

:kick:

[ShadowLiberal]

28. I switched to Letterman, I tried Conan for 6 episodes, but he just wasn't all that funny

Unfortunately though Letterman's no Jay Leno either, I'll stop watching him and watch Jay Leno again when his new show starts in a few months.