Tonight Dave Letterman goes back on the air after one hell of a weekend. And I'm already confused. Thursday night — as I'm sure you know by now — he went on the air and told an extraordinary story, first about being blackmailed and then about what he'd been blackmailed for. "Creepy" things, that vague descriptor, was put into a little sharper focus like so: "I have had sex with women who work for me on this show." (more...)

Is CBS kidding? Brian Stelter at the NYT reports that they've spent the weekend having "unauthorized copies" removed from YouTube. First of all, let's get one thing straight: Videos of Letterman's mea culpa don't need to be authorized. They're news. Check your Fair Use rules: it uses only the newsworthy portion of the show, it's definitely being commented on (!), and it won't affect the market for the original work (don't blame the messenger!). Despite its length (approx 10 mins) it's been pretty well-established as blaring-headlines-on-the-front-of-the-New-York-Post news. So let's just make that clear. (more...)

Before today, millions of people may have seen the work of Robert J. Halderman, 51, but they didn't know who he was. Now, his name is on the way to infamy — as the guy who tried to blackmail David Letterman. (more...)