Retracting Previous Letterman Opinion Article

One of the lessons that beginning writers have to learn is to check their facts, check their facts, check their facts.

On a recent opinion piece on the David Letterman blackmail story, I rushed to print and published a quickly written, off the cuff opinion on the breaking news. I had not seen the original admission by Mr. Letterman, only news clips of it on morning shows. First mistake, if you haven't seen something first hand, perhaps it would behoove you not to write your opinion of it! Or at best, wait and gather more information.

There was ample opportunity to gather more information this week and to hear lots of opinion from all sides on the continually unfolding story. I had the opportunity to watch his whole admission about the story.

And while I still hold true to my original premise that announcing the news on his late evening talk show with a somewhat joking and flippant approach trivialized the news, I can see that as more information comes to light, that perhaps he felt this was the proper thing to do to state his own side of things.

I have no idea what scrutiny a famous entertainer and performer like Mr. Letterman might have to endure, but I'm sure it's intense. And perhaps he was just trying to set the record straight from the beginning. So in admitting these relationships, which were not affairs, as I so erroneously stated in my previous article, then Mr. Letterman seems to be saying, "Hey, I didn't do anything wrong!"

Why the blackmailer felt David Letterman had reason to fear exposure I don't know and I suppose we might discover that as the story continues to unfold. But I do know this. As David Letterman felt he needed to share the whole story, I also felt I needed to confess my errors and to apologize to Mr. Letterman in light of the new information and the correct information that I now possess.

Since I don't know him and can't really privately apologize for any slander or building of bad feelings toward him, I thought the least I should do, as a fellow Hoosier and sometimes fan, was to apologize publicly to those who read my work.

I was wrong David Letterman to take you to task in print in an opinion article that was full of errors and misinformation.

I sincerely apologize and I hope that this matter gets resolved fairly for all involved, including yourself and your wife and family.

And that is the end of the story. Betty Malone learned another valuable writing lesson this week. And that's a good thing!