So, how do CBS News officials feel about their Katie Couric-John McCain exclusive interview being lifted for laughs on the Late Show? The NYPost’s Don Kaplan asked around.
Asked if CBS officials had a problem with Letterman using the internal news feed, a spokeswoman for “The Evening News” refused to address the issue. But several CBS News executives – who asked not to be identified – said that the stunt did not go down well within the news division.
“If we had done something like that to him, someone around here would end up getting fired,” one said. “They were pretty aggravated,” a CBS News source told The Post. “But they were not about to start a fight with Letterman,” the source said. “We’re in the middle of a heavy, heavy news cycle and Letterman is Letterman. He does whatever he wants and always has.”
Advertisement
Last night Letterman did not let up on McCain for ditching his show in favor of an interview with Couric. About David Blaine’s Central Park stunt where he hung upside-down for 60 hours, Letterman joked, “They just left the guy hanging there…It’s the same thing McCain did to me last night.”
Added Letterman during the monologue, “Here’s how it works: You don’t come to see me? You don’t come to see me? Well, we might not see you on Inauguration Day.”