Letterman Scandal Is Ratings Gold

His list: Things he needs to tell the American people

(NEWSER) - Mitt Romney is now in a dead heat with Newt Gingrich. In a bid to perhaps claw his way back into the No. 1 slot solo, he made his second appearance of the year on the Late Show last night, and shared the "Top 10 Things Mitt Romney Would Like to Say to the American People." OK, American People—here are some of the very important pieces of information Romney would like to make sure you know:

• "Isn't it time for a president who looks like a 1970s game show host?"

Finally gets all seven, but only after a hint

(NEWSER) - Justin Bieber was on the Late Show With David Letterman last night, and in a clip picked up by Gawker and other outlets, the teen heartthrob struggled just a bit with his geography. One of the perks of fame, he explained to Letterman, is that he’s visited “every continent.” Dave jumped on the opportunity, asking him exactly how many of those there are. “Asia, North America, South America, um, Africa, Antarctica, and the North Pole,” Bieber began. After getting buzzed for his wrong answer, he tried “Canada” before coming up with Australia and, finally, Europe—but only after Letterman gave him a hint. More»

Looks like late-night host is no major windfall for TBS

(NEWSER) - George Lopez's late-night talk show got booted to midnight to make room for Conan O'Brien. Sacrifices have to be made in the quest for fortune, right? Eh, maybe. Turns out Conan is barely more popular than Lopez Tonight was. The redhead's TBS show officially turned one this week, and the first-year stats are nothing to write home about. Yahoo reports that he averaged 952,000 viewers a night, to Lopez's 911,000, per Nielsen. That's a serious drop from Conan's 4 million-viewer debut. More»

'Late Show' host responds to threat in monologue, top 10 list

(NEWSER) - David Letterman returned to the Late Show last night with an evening full of jokes about—what else?—a jihadist’s death threat against him . “Tonight, you people are more to me, honestly, more than an audience … you’re more like a human shield,” he said, before apologizing for arriving onstage late. “I was talking to the guy from CBS,” he explained. “We were going through the CBS life insurance policy to see if I was covered for jihad.” More»

O'Brien's TV viewership has plunged 60% since show debut

(NEWSER) - Conan O'Brien is bombing on late-night TV and it's hitting TBS hard in the pocketbook. Viewership of his program has plunged some 60% since its debut last fall. TBS forked out a $12 million annual salary for the funnyman and boasted that Conan was going to be the "building block" of a network revival, reports the Wall Street Journal . But the Time Warner-owned channel isn't throwing in the towel yet, and is instead investing more bucks on program production and lead-in shows to woo viewers. Officials say they're committed to the show at least through next year. More»