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These years later,
Martha opens up

And, yes, Stewart is still angry over her prosecution

By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Nov 19, 2009

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It has been five years since Martha Stewart went to prison after being convicted of lying to investigators about that infamous ImClone stock trade. She's been on television since -- starred in two TV shows, in fact -- but she hasn't sat for an interview until tonight.

She'll talk to Cynthia McFadden on ABC's "Nightline" at 11:35 p.m. on subjects ranging from her jail stint to talk show rival Rachael Ray to her hopes for her company to her own peculiar perfectionism. One example: She explains how she stores the pink gravel on her mile-long driveway each winter, not wanting it to get muddy when the bad weather comes.

It's a fascinating portrait of a woman who, for all her many media ambitions, from her TV shows to her magazines, is not at all media friendly. Stewart comes across the same as she does on her self-titled syndicated TV show, a woman who makes an exquisite meal but not one with whom you'd want to share a meal.

She remains miffed about her 2004 prosecution, telling McFadden that she was angry that her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, was affected, losing more than $100 million in 2004 and 2005.

"I was pissed. Okay," she says. "Pissed that something could actually affect that. The company had nothing to do with anything. But yet, because I am the face and the brand, my person -- it certainly had a -- harmful effect."

MSLO returned to profitability in 2007, just as the worldwide financial crisis hit, but despite the closure of Blueprint magazine, the Stewart brand remains a strong one. She is trying to expand her merchandising into the crafting world, a natural fit, and she recently released a new book, "Dinner at Home."

"Nightline" should draw anyone who has followed Stewart's fall and rise, which has been fascinating. It comes at a time when the newsmagazine's ratings are strong.

The show has averaged 3.9 million total viewers this season and is in the midst of its longest weekly winning streak over NBC's "Tonight Show" since the 1991-'92 season, 20 weeks. "Nightline" is tied with CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman" for No. 1 on the season.

A look at this week’s top TV draws
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	ABC	“Good Morning America” (N)	Shakira visits and performs.
7 p.m.	ESPN2	“College Basketball” (S)	California plays Syracuse at Madison Square Garden in New York.
8 p.m.	CW	“Vampire Diaries” (D)	Elena’s relationship with Stefan is affected by something she discovers.
9 p.m.	ABC	“Grey’s Anatomy” (D)	Bailey’s dad visits for the holidays, and he doesn’t like how she lives her life.
9 p.m.	NBC	“The Office” (C)	Michael, Andy, Dwight and Oscar attend a shareholders meeting in New York.
10 p.m.	Lifetime	“Project Runway” (R)	Season finale. The final three showcase their collections at Fashion Week, and a winner is picked.
10 p.m.	ABC	“Private Practice” (D)	Must be daddy issues night on ABC: Addison’s father makes an appearance, but she isn’t exactly happy about it.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	CBS	“Ghost Whisperer” (D)	The ghost of a young girl who died from leukemia becomes friends with Aiden.
8 p.m.	NBC	“Law & Order” (D)	Lupo and Bernard look into an armed robbery at an elderly man’s shop.
8 p.m.	ESPN	“NBA Basketball” (S)	The Magic versus the Celtics in an Eastern Conference battle.
9 p.m.	CBS	“Medium” (D)	Is this episode sponsored by Lenscrafters? Allison is forced to wear sunglasses when her eyes become sensitive to light.
9 p.m.	USA	“Monk” (D)	Monk finds a challenge in trying to track down a serial killer.
10 p.m.	Starz	“Crash” (D)	Seth, Kenny and Bo get trapped during a power outage.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21
Time	Network	Program	Description
11 a.m.	ABC	“College Football” (S)	Most will likely see the big rivalry game between Michigan and Ohio State, which isn't quite as big now that Michigan isn't quite as good.
7:30 p.m.	Versus	“College Football” (S)	And the band is on the field! Cal takes on Stanford.
8 p.m.	Fox	“Cops” (R)	Cops in Oklahoma chase a carjacker, but on foot.
8 p.m.	ABC	“College Football” (S)	Teams TBD, but most could end up seeing a good one between Oregon and Arizona.
8:30 p.m.	Nickelodeon	“True Jackson, VP” (K)	True asks out a boy she likes but gets rejected.
11:30 p.m.	NBC	“Saturday Night Live” (C)	Joseph Gordon-Levitt hosts and Dave Matthews Band performs.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22
Time	Network	Program	Description
3:15 p.m.	ABC	“NASCAR Racing” (S)	The final race of the season, the Ford 400 from Homestead-Miami Speedway.
8 p.m.	Fox	“The Simpsons” (C)	Jonah Hill plays one of Springfield Elementary’s all-time pranksters.
8 p.m.	ABC	“American Music Awards” (A)	Jay-Z, Black Eyed Peas, Janet Jackson and Eminem are all slated to perform at the 37th annual event.
8:15 p.m.	NBC	“NFL Football” (S)	The Eagles take on the suddenly reeling Bears in Chicago.
8:30 p.m.	ESPN	“MLS Soccer” (S)	The MLS Cup championship game from Seattle.
9 p.m.	HBO	“Curb Your Enthusiasm” (C)	Season finale. Larry returns a favor but then doesn’t get to spend time with Cheryl.
9 p.m.	Fox	“Family Guy” (C)	Peter and the guys try to replace Cleveland with a guy named Jerome.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.