Behind the top ten

The first thing the 12 Ex-College students saw as they entered the 11th floor conference room atop New York City's famous Ed Sullivan Theatre was a big whiteboard with the words, "Top ten things I can say now that Dave isn't here," scrawled in green ink. Seized by confusion, stricken by panic, and fraught with indignation the students sat anxiously, fearing the worst.

Through the effort and persistence of Explorations leaders Adam Blickstein and Rachel Hoff, students in the Ex Colleges' class, "Washington in Technicolor The Impact of Popular Entertainment on Political Perceptions," were going to see the Letterman show.

These freshmen were not only granted the opportunity to go behind the scenes of The Late Show with David Letterman and meet with executive producer and Tufts grad Rob Burnett (LA '84), but they were also given exclusive tickets to a live taping of the show.

The ex-college class has spent the semester studying the effects of television, movies, books, and other media sources on politicians' decisions and the American public's political views. Recently, late night television has come to the forefront of the political scene, with Arnold Schwarzenegger's announcement of his gubernatorial candidacy on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

With the democratic primaries around the corner, the class was anxious to meet Burnett to discuss their concerns of a political climate that has become hopelessly entangled with the American entertainment industry.

However, during the brief moments before Burnett's arrival, nobody was thinking about what Rob Burnett would say about the contribution of entertainment to politics. With the words, "guest host Paul Schafer," staring them in the face no one was focusing on this once- in-a-lifetime experience

Finally, their worst fears were realized: just before Burnett arrived it became clear that Dave Letterman would not be hosting The Late Show with David Letterman because of the birth of his son.

In front of a room of nearly devastated students, Rob Burnett entered and took the limelight. The executive producer, however, didn't miss a beat. Clad in his usual business attire -- a yellow t-shirt, jeans and sneakers -- Burnett worked the room like a pro.

His introduction was brief, and he immediately invited questions from the students. So what does an executive producer of a major late night television show actually do? "I get an enormous paycheck," Burnett responded to the class's first question.

Burnett revealed, however, that he actually does a lot more than that. As executive producer he is responsible for overseeing everything that goes into the production of the show, including the writing, production and scheduling.

At one time Burnett was actually head writer for the show, so his role tends to lean towards the writing aspects of the production. In the middle of the meeting his assistant interrupted the conversation so that Burnett could give final approval to that night's top ten list. It was clear throughout the meeting that Burnett's comedic contributions are highly valued by The Late Show.

His sense of humor not only captivates the many viewers of the show every night but also kept the interest of the Washington in Technicolor class. "I thought he was a great, really funny guy who gave the students good insight into the political humor of the show as well as the television business," explorations leader Rachel Hoff said.

Burnett was full of political stories about The Late Show. He described one instance during a commercial break while the cameras were still running, when then-Governor George W. Bush used a shawl draped around the neck of an assistant to clean his glasses.

He also explained how politicians do not get favored treatment on the show. "I have no clue who Dave votes for," Burnett said, expressing the apolitical nature of the show, "we make fun of everybody."

Burnett also expressed his concern with an American public that gets its news from late night television. "Good Lord it's a comedy show," Burnett said. "If you're tuning into this show to find out what's going on in the world, you've got a big problem."

The Tufts students were also eager to hear about Burnett's Tufts experience. The class of '84 graduate shared some stories about embarrassing himself as a freshman by running full speed into a rope outside of Miller Hall, dropping out of the IR program, and falling into a major in English.

Burnett actually taught an explorations class on comedy in America when he attended Tufts. The executive producer talked not only about his show's relationship with politics but also about succeeding in the television business. Burnett emphasized getting a foot in the door through internships, the value of writing skills and the importance of being able to do seemingly menial tasks well.

The actual taping didn't stack up to Burnett's amicable, playful performance before the show. Paul Schaffer's short, bald jokes couldn't fill the giant void created by absence of the superstar Letterman. "I was so disappointed," Hoff said. "I've been a fan my entire life."

"After being told that Letterman has only been out on two occasions in the last 22 years, it was disappointing that his girlfriend decided to have a baby when we were in town," Explorations student Andrew Caplan said.

Despite Letterman's absence, the students were still awed by the entire experience, including having the opportunity after the taping to wander onto the set and sit in Letterman's chair.

The highlight of the trip, however, was clearly Rob Burnett. "Meeting with Rob Burnett was enjoyable and entertaining," Caplan said. "He offered great insight on how to succeed in business and in life."