John Ziegler Starts Campaign & Website to Fire David Letterman

[Shoot From Hip]

Sounds like he's taking a page from Gloria Allred's playbook.

 

[nmoore6676]

Most of the jokes written for late night talk shows come from the writing staff although hosts like Leno & Letterman do contribute and they do run throughs, so the joke wasn't new to Dave. In his apology he noted that he should have made it clear who he was talking about. It was a mistake on his part and he took responsibility for it like a man. Palin accepted his apology and it's done. Though I did find her labeling Dave as a sexual pervert to be over the top on her part.

The only people perpetuating this are those in the media and that hack Ziegler. He's doing it for publicity and nothing more. If it was really that big a deal to him he would have talked Saul into a coach flight to New York sooner. As mentioned by someone else earlier in this thread, he's a day late and a dollar short and is going overboard on an issue that doesn't merit the attention. But then again, yesterday must have been a slow news day as all the media outlets are giving Ziegler air time.

Again, it's over, old news and Palin got what she wanted out of it, more time in the public eye. To Dave it was just another joke. Only this joke took on a life of its own, something I'm sure he didn't anticipate.

Removing Ziegler from this for a moment, it is still an issue because Don Imus was fired for less and after making more apologies including to Reverend Al Sharpton. There have been others fired or suspended for less. The Palins seem to be done with it and they have other things to concern them and that is as it should be.

The fact that JZ gets some publicity for his show on KGIL is icing on his cake. I personally want him to succeed because I strongly support independent local broadcasters. Everyone hates Clear Channel and their equivalents and how they are homogenizing and destroying broadcasting as we would all like it to be yet no one seems to like independents either. I would not be surprised that if they don't get some ratings action from this latest change on 1260/540 that there will be yet another format flip or maybe Mount Wilson will throw in the towel and sell the AM for whatever they can get. I don't want either to happen because I listen to Glenn Beck who isn't likely to get onto another LA signal.

I have to admit that Ziegler can be irritating at times but name me a talk show host who discusses real issues that isn't. I get irritated at them all Progressive, Conservative, or in between at times, if I didn't they aren't doing their job. I want to be challenged and made to reconsider my ideas and consider those of others with whom I may have a disagreement.

 

[LKellerIII]

Removing Ziegler from this for a moment, it is still an issue because Don Imus was fired for less and after making more apologies including to Reverend Al Sharpton. There have been others fired or suspended for less. The Palins seem to be done with it and they have other things to concern them and that is as it should be.

I'd have to disagree that "Imus was fired for less." , and I think that would be the judgment of most Americans. Imus's offhand remark played into racist stereotypes about a historically oppressed minority group, and whether you like it or not, that's a much more serious offense to most people than a tasteless joke about a young caucasian woman being "knocked up." It may not be fair, but that's the way it is.

Personally, I don't think Imus should have been fired. I'm not a fan, but as far as I know, there is no evidence that Imus is a racist, and the remark was clearly not scripted and probably just slipped out. His apology should have been accepted, and he should have been allowed to continue at CBS.

Letterman shouldn't be fired either, and the chances of that happening are slim and none. The Late Show writers probably thought the Palin daughter at the game was Bristol, not the 14 year old. The apology should be accepted, we should move on, and Ziegler should get off his high horse.

 

[accessdlp]

Letterman shouldn't be fired either, and the chances of that happening are slim and none.

He won't be. Unlike Imus, who's ratings history I have heard was spotty in many markets (and his track record in LA is well documented.....and dissapointing), Letterman is a major profit center for CBS.

It's done. It's over. Move on. Dot org. (lol)

 

[tx629]

fodder for everyone from Letterman to various news outlets. gotta sell newspapers somehow.

 

[4UH8SIMBKAGN]

fodder for everyone from Letterman to various news outlets. gotta sell newspapers somehow.

It didn't help Letterman in the 18-49 Demo last night. He was beaten by Conan 2 to 1. Conan got a 1.4, Letterman a .7. Letterman led in overall households but by a very slim margin. Now that this is dying down, looks like time for Letterman to be mired in second or third place, as always.

 

[calguy]

As I recall, Imus was just repeating what his producer had said seconds before, repeating it was stupid, but people do that in conversation all the time. Letterman means a lot more to CBS than Imus did to CBS and MSNBC so it was much easier to blow him out. Losing Letterman would be devastating for the eye network no matter what the rating are reporting from night to night these last weeks. Dave still has a lot of viewers and while Conan is good, he did get bested by Craig Ferguson at 12:30 so he's not bullet proof. There’s quite a bit of sampling that will take place before people make up their minds.

 

[4UH8SIMBKAGN]

As I recall, Imus was just repeating what his producer had said seconds before, repeating it was stupid, but people do that in conversation all the time. Letterman means a lot more to CBS than Imus did to CBS and MSNBC so it was much easier to blow him out. Losing Letterman would be devastating for the eye network no matter what the rating are reporting from night to night these last weeks. Dave still has a lot of viewers and while Conan is good, he did get bested by Craig Ferguson at 12:30 so he's not bullet proof. There’s quite a bit of sampling that will take place before people make up their minds.

Demos are what matter. Conan has not been bested by Craig Ferguson or David Letterman 18-49. It makes good press to say David beat Conan in total viewers or total households but when it comes down to the dollars and cents, Conan has beaten David from day 1, that won't change and the advertisers will go with Conan.

 

[softmachine]

The site's run by Michael Patrick Leahy. His personal site is http://www.michaelpatrickleahy.com /. His company is Guerrilla Enterprise and their website is http://www.gemteam.com /. It includes contact information for anyone interested (PO Box 183, Thompsons Station, TN 37179, 615-243-6869, [email protected] ).

 

[calguy]

As I recall, Imus was just repeating what his producer had said seconds before, repeating it was stupid, but people do that in conversation all the time. Letterman means a lot more to CBS than Imus did to CBS and MSNBC so it was much easier to blow him out. Losing Letterman would be devastating for the eye network no matter what the rating are reporting from night to night these last weeks. Dave still has a lot of viewers and while Conan is good, he did get bested by Craig Ferguson at 12:30 so he's not bullet proof. There’s quite a bit of sampling that will take place before people make up their minds.

Demos are what matter. Conan has not been bested by Craig Ferguson or David Letterman 18-49. It makes good press to say David beat Conan in total viewers or total households but when it comes down to the dollars and cents, Conan has beaten David from day 1, that won't change and the advertisers will go with Conan.

I believe that has more to do with viewing habits than anything else. They've been watching NBC for years and it's a habit, but that can change if Conan doesn't build on these numbers. When a change like this happens there's a lot of sampling that can take place. Personally I don't think that Dave will take the lead as he's been around a while now at 11:30 and he's a love him or hate him type. But I don't always find Conan to be so great either. It will be interesting to see what happens when Leno returns in the fall. It could help Conan, or hurt him if those who always liked Leno decide to turn off NBC after Jay's show is over. There's going to be a lot of conflict with the bookers of all these shows as well. You'll have four talk shows in LA (five if you count Carson Daly) who'll need guests and you'll also get even more repetition when all these actors show up to promote their projects. It could really dilute the numbers, no matter what the demos are. Fragmentation could water all the numbers down. I wouldn’t count Dave out no matter how over the age line you find him to be. He’s still a major anchor for CBS and makes a hell of a lot of money for them. The real question is who might replace him when his newly signed contract ends

 

[nmoore6676]

Removing Ziegler from this for a moment, it is still an issue because Don Imus was fired for less and after making more apologies including to Reverend Al Sharpton. There have been others fired or suspended for less. The Palins seem to be done with it and they have other things to concern them and that is as it should be.

I'd have to disagree that "Imus was fired for less." , and I think that would be the judgment of most Americans. Imus's offhand remark played into racist stereotypes about a historically oppressed minority group, and whether you like it or not, that's a much more serious offense to most people than a tasteless joke about a young caucasian woman being "knocked up." It may not be fair, but that's the way it is.

Personally, I don't think Imus should have been fired. I'm not a fan, but as far as I know, there is no evidence that Imus is a racist, and the remark was clearly not scripted and probably just slipped out. His apology should have been accepted, and he should have been allowed to continue at CBS.

Letterman shouldn't be fired either, and the chances of that happening are slim and none. The Late Show writers probably thought the Palin daughter at the game was Bristol, not the 14 year old. The apology should be accepted, we should move on, and Ziegler should get off his high horse.

I have top respectfully disagree and I expect that most Americans would also. Imus' remarks and those of his fellows were not representing a violent sexual act on an underage female. Tasteless, yes but not really harmful. But in either case they were just bad jokes, but with the significant difference that Letterman is scripted and Imus was not. If Letterman had made a similar reference to Obama's daughters I am sure the outcome would have been different, but probably he would have self filtered those remarks anyway. By the way Letterman's jokes about Sarah Palin updating her "slutty airline stewardess look", while offensive to some was fair game as were the Clinton as a lecherous horndog jokes or Bush as a bumbling fool because there was some basis in fact, or at least in certain people's perceptions, to build upon. There was no such foundation for the rape humor and it appeared, to me, to be an attempt to be deliberately hurtful which I do not think Imus intended, his remark being an unfortunate slip.

That all being said, I do not want Letterman to be fired, nor did I want Imus to be fired, it is the hypocritical difference in how management responded that I protest. Imus did the right thing as did Letterman and in both cases the aggrieved parties accepted the apologies but the final outcome was a lot different.

 

[justpassingthough]

Removing Ziegler from this for a moment, it is still an issue because Don Imus was fired for less and after making more apologies including to Reverend Al Sharpton. There have been others fired or suspended for less. The Palins seem to be done with it and they have other things to concern them and that is as it should be.

I'd have to disagree that "Imus was fired for less." , and I think that would be the judgment of most Americans. Imus's offhand remark played into racist stereotypes about a historically oppressed minority group, and whether you like it or not, that's a much more serious offense to most people than a tasteless joke about a young caucasian woman being "knocked up." It may not be fair, but that's the way it is.

Personally, I don't think Imus should have been fired. I'm not a fan, but as far as I know, there is no evidence that Imus is a racist, and the remark was clearly not scripted and probably just slipped out. His apology should have been accepted, and he should have been allowed to continue at CBS.

Letterman shouldn't be fired either, and the chances of that happening are slim and none. The Late Show writers probably thought the Palin daughter at the game was Bristol, not the 14 year old. The apology should be accepted, we should move on, and Ziegler should get off his high horse.

I have top respectfully disagree and I expect that most Americans would also. Imus' remarks and those of his fellows were not representing a violent sexual act on an underage female. Tasteless, yes but not really harmful. But in either case they were just bad jokes, but with the significant difference that Letterman is scripted and Imus was not. If Letterman had made a similar reference to Obama's daughters I am sure the outcome would have been different, but probably he would have self filtered those remarks anyway. By the way Letterman's jokes about Sarah Palin updating her "slutty airline stewardess look", while offensive to some was fair game as were the Clinton as a lecherous horndog jokes or Bush as a bumbling fool because there was some basis in fact, or at least in certain people's perceptions, to build upon. There was no such foundation for the rape humor and it appeared, to me, to be an attempt to be deliberately hurtful which I do not think Imus intended, his remark being an unfortunate slip.

That all being said, I do not want Letterman to be fired, nor did I want Imus to be fired, it is the hypocritical difference in how management responded that I protest. Imus did the right thing as did Letterman and in both cases the aggrieved parties accepted the apologies but the final outcome was a lot different.

I think you're reading too much into the joke. There is no mention of a violent sexual act against a woman. The joke implies that Bristol Palin consensually slept with Alex Rodriguez. Thats what makes it a joke. He is lecherous and she makes bad sexual decisions and gets knocked up. Nothing more or less. Comparing the Bristol Palin joke to a hypothetical joke about violating Obama's daughters is apples and oranges.

Imus' comments were racial stereotypes that had no basis in fact. Letterman's joke had basis in fact, as Bristol Palin got knocked up.

Of course, both jokes were mean spirited and I agree that no one needed to lose their job over the jokes, but certainly Imus' comment was more offensive as it was based on tired steereotypes. Good comedy comes from mining truth, such as Bristol Palin's lack of discipline.

 

[LKellerIII]

nmoore & justpassing: you both make perfect sense, and state the opposing views very well. Obviously, reasonable people will disagree. The fact is: Sarah Palin's unusual family (no put-down implied), and her hometown will be the fodder for late-night and stand-up humor as long as Palin continues to be a viable possiblity for a presidential run in 2012, or even 2016...much as the Clintons have been victims of some rather cruel jokes.

When Bill is a frail old man in 20 years, I have no doubt the comics will be coming up with dirty-old-man Clinton jokes. Much humor can be mined from familiarity - and the Clinton jokes have been going on for...what?...17 years now, I'm guessing, since the first "bimbo eruption" allegations surfaced in the 1992 campaign. You can expect Palin's 14 year old to be fair-game in about 4 more years, depending on her behavior.

Hypocracy by politicians is also fair game, and there's no easier target than Christian conservative politicans who preach abstinence and "family values," and are then caught with their pants down...so to speak. The latest example is Republican Senator Ensign from Nevada, who just admitted to an extra-marital affair with a staffer. I'm sure the late night comedy writers are sharpening their pencils at this moment for a slew of Ensign jokes on tonight's shows. All you conservatives can take some solace in the knowledge that liberal sleaze-bag John Edwards was not spared the wrath of comics and pundits when his affair was revealed a few months back.

 

[SuperRadioFan]

You'll have to admit, John Edwards was well known nationally, nobody knows who Ensign is. I wonder if he was ever a Navy officer--- Ensign Ensign ;D

 

[nmoore6676]

You'll have to admit, John Edwards was well known nationally, nobody knows who Ensign is. I wonder if he was ever a Navy officer--- Ensign Ensign ;D

You must have read "Catch-22".

I do not believe that I am reading too much into the so called joke. My objection, besides the hypocrisy in management actions, is that Letterman or his staff thought a joke about a teen aged girl, no matter whose daughter she is, being raped by a steroid using cretin is in anyway funny. I like Sarah Palin or at least what I know of her and I would rather that unusual families are disclosed before rather than after the election. Funny families they can be amusing, as in Billy Carter and Roger Clinton. Also Cheney blasting a friend n the face while hunting is in a way amusing. Anyway this has gone on too long and everyone has expressed their views and most were very well presented.

What remains to be seen is if the ratings bump going to Letterman will last or as I believe Conan O'Brien will ultimately triumph. Also although the original premise of this thread was incorrect, in that the "Fire Letterman" site was not Ziegler's, is whether JZ will bring enough attention to KGIL to save what may well prove to be yet another failed format for the station. I would think that he will need another stunt, if you want to call it that, to be successful. I wish John and KGIL both success if only to keep a local outlet for Glenn Beck.

 

[SuperRadioFan]

Scary, Norman, because I was thinking of Catch 22 when I wrote that!!!!!!

 

[4UH8SIMBKAGN]

As I recall, Imus was just repeating what his producer had said seconds before, repeating it was stupid, but people do that in conversation all the time. Letterman means a lot more to CBS than Imus did to CBS and MSNBC so it was much easier to blow him out. Losing Letterman would be devastating for the eye network no matter what the rating are reporting from night to night these last weeks. Dave still has a lot of viewers and while Conan is good, he did get bested by Craig Ferguson at 12:30 so he's not bullet proof. There’s quite a bit of sampling that will take place before people make up their minds.

Demos are what matter. Conan has not been bested by Craig Ferguson or David Letterman 18-49. It makes good press to say David beat Conan in total viewers or total households but when it comes down to the dollars and cents, Conan has beaten David from day 1, that won't change and the advertisers will go with Conan.

I believe that has more to do with viewing habits than anything else. They've been watching NBC for years and it's a habit, but that can change if Conan doesn't build on these numbers. When a change like this happens there's a lot of sampling that can take place. Personally I don't think that Dave will take the lead as he's been around a while now at 11:30 and he's a love him or hate him type. But I don't always find Conan to be so great either. It will be interesting to see what happens when Leno returns in the fall. It could help Conan, or hurt him if those who always liked Leno decide to turn off NBC after Jay's show is over. There's going to be a lot of conflict with the bookers of all these shows as well. You'll have four talk shows in LA (five if you count Carson Daly) who'll need guests and you'll also get even more repetition when all these actors show up to promote their projects. It could really dilute the numbers, no matter what the demos are. Fragmentation could water all the numbers down. I wouldn’t count Dave out no matter how over the age line you find him to be. He’s still a major anchor for CBS and makes a hell of a lot of money for them. The real question is who might replace him when his newly signed contract ends

Conan is drawing younger viewers FROM Letterman. So, no, this does not have to do with habits, it has to do with a fading burned out semi-star known as David Letterman... http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118005122.html?categoryid=14&cs=1 Conan has BETTER 18-49 numbers than Leno did.

I certainly would count David out. Even Nightline is beating him 18-49. His time came and passed when Hugh Grant appeared on The Tonight Show...with Jay Leno.

 

[LKellerIII]

As I recall, Imus was just repeating what his producer had said seconds before, repeating it was stupid, but people do that in conversation all the time. Letterman means a lot more to CBS than Imus did to CBS and MSNBC so it was much easier to blow him out. Losing Letterman would be devastating for the eye network no matter what the rating are reporting from night to night these last weeks. Dave still has a lot of viewers and while Conan is good, he did get bested by Craig Ferguson at 12:30 so he's not bullet proof. There’s quite a bit of sampling that will take place before people make up their minds.

Demos are what matter. Conan has not been bested by Craig Ferguson or David Letterman 18-49. It makes good press to say David beat Conan in total viewers or total households but when it comes down to the dollars and cents, Conan has beaten David from day 1, that won't change and the advertisers will go with Conan.

I believe that has more to do with viewing habits than anything else. They've been watching NBC for years and it's a habit, but that can change if Conan doesn't build on these numbers. When a change like this happens there's a lot of sampling that can take place. Personally I don't think that Dave will take the lead as he's been around a while now at 11:30 and he's a love him or hate him type. But I don't always find Conan to be so great either. It will be interesting to see what happens when Leno returns in the fall. It could help Conan, or hurt him if those who always liked Leno decide to turn off NBC after Jay's show is over. There's going to be a lot of conflict with the bookers of all these shows as well. You'll have four talk shows in LA (five if you count Carson Daly) who'll need guests and you'll also get even more repetition when all these actors show up to promote their projects. It could really dilute the numbers, no matter what the demos are. Fragmentation could water all the numbers down. I wouldn’t count Dave out no matter how over the age line you find him to be. He’s still a major anchor for CBS and makes a hell of a lot of money for them. The real question is who might replace him when his newly signed contract ends

Conan is drawing younger viewers FROM Letterman. So, no, this does not have to do with habits, it has to do with a fading burned out semi-star known as David Letterman... http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118005122.html?categoryid=14&cs=1 Conan has BETTER 18-49 numbers than Leno did.

I certainly would count David out. Even Nightline is beating him 18-49. His time came and passed when Hugh Grant appeared on The Tonight Show...with Jay Leno.

You should post this on the National TV board, 4UH8, where the general consensus is that Letterman is kicking Conan's ass, and Conan's show is as good as dead.

http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=146372.0

 

[vsa]

Writing and delivering a "joke" portraying anybody's 14 year-old daughter as getting supposedly knocked-up by a baseball player is off limits. Period.

Is there even a shred of decency left in our society?

If in doubt about the Palin stadium visit source material, there's an under-used-by-CBS tool called Google. I think Letterman and his writers also have telephones. Place a call and ask. Nobody bothered. It's obvious that Letterman and his staff didn't care that a minor was going to be attacked coast-to-coast in front of millions of viewers. All of us know that if one of the parents was a member of the "media-favored" party, Letterman would have been tossed out on his keester immediately. It's still not too late for CBS to do the right thing.

As for JZ, keep at it. The size of this thread says it's a good move. There are alot of pissed-off parents out here who don't have a megaphone.


 

 

[Element9]

Johnny Z just a bit late to the dance with this one, and sooooo obvious. Letterman's A-Rod-Palin "knocked up" bit was just plain dumb. A bad joke that wasn't really that funny, except for a pocket of back-east Yankees fans. And it was poorly-presented in the associative sense of video to aural; the wrong daughter. But this isn't the first time late night TV has flubbed. The whole fiasco is water over the dam at this point. The righteous indignation of the Palin troops is particularly amusing in that Ms. Palin traipsed around with her family through latter part of the campaign, making the Palin Family part of the act: So contrived, just like the older kids cradling and handing off the baby while mom's on the stump. So transparent. Ms. Palin had a right to be pissed, but as usual, she tried to cash in on it and overplayed her position. The irony is, this happens so often with talk radio hosts, whether it's the right wing nut bars or the left wing loons. There. I've pissed off everybody.