"I recently did the David Letterman Show about my book. He was very serious and made no jokes and it caught me off guard a little bit. He was much more serious than some of the joke shows that journalists get on"
About this Quote
Woodward’s little note of surprise is really a quiet status update on how media power has shifted. David Letterman, patron saint of the wink and the rimshot, suddenly treats a book-tour journalist like a statesman. That reversal is the point: the “joke show” becomes the serious room, while the supposedly serious press can feel like entertainment with credentials.
The intent is modest - he’s recounting an experience - but the subtext is pointed. Woodward is implicitly grading the press corps: some news interviews are so trapped in performative snark, horse-race framing, or prepackaged conflict that a late-night host can come off as the more attentive interrogator. He’s also acknowledging a broader cultural reality: in an age of fragmentation, credibility and gravitas don’t belong exclusively to legacy institutions. They migrate to whoever can command attention without turning everything into a bit.
Context matters. Woodward is a symbol of old-school, access-driven political journalism, the kind built on whispered sourcing and the promise of seriousness. Hearing him praise Letterman’s sobriety carries a faint irony: when the court jester drops the mask, it can feel more honest than the court scribes playing to the crowd. The line “caught me off guard” isn’t just personal; it’s generational. It captures the moment when late-night stops being a guilty pleasure and starts functioning as a parallel public square, one where comedy is the wrapper but not always the content.
The intent is modest - he’s recounting an experience - but the subtext is pointed. Woodward is implicitly grading the press corps: some news interviews are so trapped in performative snark, horse-race framing, or prepackaged conflict that a late-night host can come off as the more attentive interrogator. He’s also acknowledging a broader cultural reality: in an age of fragmentation, credibility and gravitas don’t belong exclusively to legacy institutions. They migrate to whoever can command attention without turning everything into a bit.
Context matters. Woodward is a symbol of old-school, access-driven political journalism, the kind built on whispered sourcing and the promise of seriousness. Hearing him praise Letterman’s sobriety carries a faint irony: when the court jester drops the mask, it can feel more honest than the court scribes playing to the crowd. The line “caught me off guard” isn’t just personal; it’s generational. It captures the moment when late-night stops being a guilty pleasure and starts functioning as a parallel public square, one where comedy is the wrapper but not always the content.
Quote Details
| Topic | Book |
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