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CBS has named Stephen Colbert as new host of the “Late Show,” effective when David Letterman retires. Here is the press release: The CBS Television Network today announced that Stephen Colbert, the host, writer and executive producer of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning “The Colbert Report,” will succeed David Letterman as the host of THE LATE SHOW, effective when Mr. Letterman retires from the broadcast. The five-year agreement between CBS and Colbert was announced by Leslie Moonves, President and CEO, CBS Corporation, and Nina Tassler, Chairman of CBS Entertainment.

Late night television talk shows have become an important part of the national political conversation, a forum for digesting news and personalities of the day. Although their individual audiences number in the single digit millions, the political quips of the hosts are recycled the following day on morning TV, radio talks shows, and the internet. The crucial low information voting bloc, in whose hands the destiny of the Republic now perilously rests, tends to favor late night shows over hard news sources. So even though it is trivial, the retirement of David Letterman, announced last night on his television show...

Howard Stern has made no secret of his affection for Greg Gutfeld. Stern proclaimed Gutfeld's The Five to be his favorite show earlier this year. Now, the self-proclaimed King of All Media is going a step further with his praise for the Breitbart News contributor and author. Stern told his listeners earlier today that Gutfeld would make a fine replacement for the departing David Letterman. That praise doesn't come lightly. Stern has made his animosity toward fellow late night talker Jay Leno well known...

Stephen Colbert is the rumored top pick to replace David Letterman as host of Late Show on CBS. Letterman announced he plans to retire in the next year or so. Colbert 'first engaged with network executives' while Letterman was still thinking about the best time to retire, Mashable reports. Sources tell the website that CBS has spoken to other candidates - including Colbert's Comedy Central colleague Jon Stewart - but that Colbert is the 'front-and-center' pick for the job. They also say Colbert has not yet had any formal contract discussions nor is there an agreement in place.

LOS ANGELES – David Letterman, 66, rattled the entertainment industry on Thursday when it was revealed that after more than 32 years and almost 6,000 episodes in the late-night arena, he will retire in 2015 when his CBS contract expires. According to a source closely connected to the “Late Show” host, newly appointed “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon – his direct competition – inadvertently gave Letterman the final nudge. “David is older now; he had heart surgery some time ago and sees both Jimmy Kimmel [of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”] as well as the more formidable Jimmy Fallon now gaining...

After more than 30 years of hosting late night television, David Letterman announced that he will retire in 2015 during a taping of “The Late Show” on Thursday afternoon, according to CNNMoney

We're all the same in many respects, and one of those is that we all have an ego. It's a part of being human, but few people take it as far as the media craving attention that President Obama seeks out. I understand that all politicians have a healthy ego as that's to be expected in today's political climate. Most politicians are attention seekers and love having the spotlight on them. However, I find it astounding that in a city seething with narcissistic politicians, Obama finds a way to outdo them all. He just can't seem to stop himself from...

The House is out this week, giving Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) plenty of time (yeah, there’s a budget conference and other important things regardless of recess) to go on David Letterman and make funnies, delivering last night’s top 10 list.

Bill Donohue comments on David Letterman’s opening monologue of July 23: Last night, Letterman mentioned Pope Francis’ appearance at World Youth Day in Brazil by saying, “And I’m telling you if there’s anything the kids can’t get enough of, it’s a 76-year-old virgin. Come on! World Youth Day. Or as the Vatican calls it, salute to altar boys.” There are some people who can’t be shamed. One might think that a man who is known for sexually harassing his staff, and for serial adultery, might be cautious about making such a statement.

HBO's resident left-wing comic Bill Maher drew disapproval from late night host David Letterman's audience on Tuesday after he told a pair of jokes mocking George Zimmerman in the wake of his acquittal for the shooting death of black teenager Trayvon Martin. Maher was in New York City to watch the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. When Letterman mentioned that Maher was among the owners of the New York Mets, whose stadium hosted the annual mid-season classic, Maher noted that he was only a 'minority owner.'

We've already seen audiences fleeing MSNBC, the network that religiously carries the Obama administration's water, as a number of scandals rock the White House. Now, it looks like the long-running battle between Jay Leno and David Letterman is also being affected by the toxic headlines swirling around the president. During this year's May sweeps, "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" posted a 39 percent lead over "Late Show With David Letterman" in the advertiser-cherished 18-49 demographic -- the widest May sweep margin over "Late Show" since 2004, and a 12 percent increase over last year's May sweep.... In total viewers,...

<p>David Letterman took a vulgar swipe at Clint Eastwood Thursday.</p>

DAVE LETTERMAN, HOST: Here's what upset me last night … this playing fast and loose with facts. And President Obama cites the op-ed piece that Romney wrote about Detroit, 'Let them go bankrupt, let them go bankrupt.' And last night he brings it up again, 'Oh no, Governor, you said let them go bankrupt, blah blah blah, let them go bankrupt, blah.' And Mitt said, 'No, no, check the thing, check the thing, check the thing.' Now, I don't care whether you're Republican or Democrat, you want your president to be telling the truth, you want the contender to be...

zero has lost Letterman ... it's over.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWg8kDt7hiQ&feature=related

As NewsBusters previously reported, CBS Late Show host David Letterman last Thursday begged Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney to come on his show. On Friday, Letterman continued groveling actually telling viewers, "If he's not here in 39 days, don't vote for him" (video follows with transcript and commentary):Letterman: 'Don't Vote For Romney' If He Doesn't Come On My Show DAVID LETTERMAN: Now here's something that's really stuck up my nose. You know how long it is to the election? How long? Do you know? PAUL SHAFFER: A couple of months. LETTERMAN: No, it's not a couple of months. SHAFFER: One...

As the Middle East erupts in flames and as his foreign policy scheme is burned up with it, President Obama refused a meeting with Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu and instead went on the David Letterman show. One might think the President's neglect of his duty was a bad thing, but apparently it was perfectly fine with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. On Sept. 19, during an America's Choice 2012 segment on CNN's Newsroom, Wolf Blitzer was full of words of understanding for Obama's choice of Letterman over Israel's Prime Minister. It just made good sense, Blitzer imagined, for Obama to ignore his duties...

Am I giving him too much credit in thinking that he does know — rounding within, say, a trillion dollars — and is simply playing dumb to deflect an “unhelpful” question, or have we reached the point where we’re hemorrhaging money so quickly that even the president can’t keep count? C’mon. The Five Trillion Dollar Man knows.Here’s a better question: Why did Letterman broach this subject? Partisan that he is, there were a million things he could have asked O to make life easier for him (“Tell us the story about killing Osama Bin Laden again, papa”) and yet he...

President Obama used his appearance on David Letterman’s show to talk directly to the people of the Muslim world, because we all know that Dave is huge in Yemen, right? Via Reuters: “The message we have to send to the Muslim world is we expect you to work with us to keep our people safe,” Obama said during a taped interview with CBS’s David Letterman in New York. “We expect their full cooperation because that’s the only way the world works.”

When asked if he remember what the national debt was when he entered office, President Obama said "I don't know what the number was precisely." Obama told Letterman "we don't have to worry about it in the short term." "A lot of it we owe to ourselves. Because if you invest in a treasury bill or something like that then essentially you're loaning the government money. In fact, the majority of it is held by folks who live here, but we don't have to worry about it short term," Obama said.