Majority Say Letterman's Apology to Palin Was Sincere After Viewing Video

Majority Say Letterman's Apology to Palin Was Sincere After Viewing Video

- 66% of viewers say Letterman's remarks about Palin's daughter went too far -

FLEMINGTON, N.J., June 17 /PRNewswire/ -- A new national study among 500 viewers of video clips featuring David Letterman's remarks about Sarah Palin's daughter and his apology on Monday night revealed that 60% of responders indicated that Letterman's apology was sincere.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071204/NYTU133LOGO )

The study was conducted buy HCD Research using its MediaCurves.com(R) website on June 16, to obtain viewers' perceptions of David Letterman's controversial remarks directed at Sarah Palin's daughter and his apology in response to the incident. To view sincerity curves and detailed results go to: www.mediacurves.com.

"The automated response curves revealed a modest increase in the levels of sincerity among responders as Mr. Letterman got to the specifics of his apology, indicating that it was not a convincing response by any means," noted Glenn Kessler, president and CEO, HCD Research.

The study also revealed that 66% of viewers reported that Letterman's remarks directed at Sarah Palin's daughter went too far. Letterman's likeability, believability and sincerity ratings dropped significantly after participants viewed his controversial joke. After Letterman's apology, his likeability, believability and sincerity ratings increased slightly.

Among the study findings:

Please rate talk show host, David Letterman, on the following attributes where 1 represents "Not at all strong in this attribute" and 7 represents "Extremely strong in this attribute."

Likeability

BEFORE Joke AFTER Joke AFTER Apology
Video Video Video
(Total) (Total) (Total)
MEAN 4.8 4.2 4.5

Believability

BEFORE Joke AFTER Joke AFTER Apology
Video Video Video
(Total) (Total) (Total)
MEAN 4.5 4.0 4.3

Sincerity

BEFORE Joke AFTER Joke AFTER Apology
Video Video Video
(Total) (Total) (Total)
MEAN 4.3 3.8 4.2

Do you feel that David Letterman went too far with his remarks about Sarah Palin's daughter?

AFTER Apology Video
(Total)
Yes 66%
No 34%

"Do you think David Letterman's response and apology was sincere?"

AFTER Apology Video
(Total)
Yes 60%
No 40%

While viewing the video clips, participants indicated their levels of sincerity by moving their mouse from left to right on a continuum. The responses were recorded in quarter-second intervals and reported in the form of curves. The participants were also asked to respond to post-viewing questions.

About MediaCurves.com

MediaCurves.com(R) (www.mediacurves.com) is a media measurement website that provides the media and general public with a venue to view Americans' perceptions of popular and controversial media events and advertisements. For more information on mediacurves.com, please contact Barbara Taylor, director, MediaCurves.com, at (908) 483-9146 or (barbara.taylor@hcdi.net). MediaCurves.com is a service of HCD Research, a marketing and communications research company headquartered in Flemington, NJ. The company's services include traditional and web-based research. For additional information on HCD Research, access the company's web site at www.hcdi.net or call HCD Research at 908-788-9393.

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071204/NYTU133LOGO
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: HCD Research

CONTACT: Barbara Taylor, director, MediaCurves.com, +1-908-483-9146,
barbara.taylor@hcdi.net; or HCD Research, +1-908-788-9393

Web Site: http://www.hcdi.net/

NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information on the study, or to speak with Glenn Kessler, president and CEO, HCD Research, please contact Vince McGourty, HCD Research, at (908) 483-9121 or (vince.mcgourty@hcdi.net). You can also receive updates from MediaCurves.com by following us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mediacurves and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Flemington-NJ/MediaCurves/86691908820? ref=nf

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