60 Minutes correspondent Leslie Stahl, who, like Liz Smith, has refashioned herself into a lady advice disher on spam-friendly WOWOWOWOWOWOWOW.COMOCOMOCOMOCOM, now finds it appropriate to go offline with her oversharing: "DID Lesley Stahl crack an inappropriate sex joke during her commencement speech at Jesuit-run Loyola College? A witness tells us the "60 Minutes" correspondent jolted the crowd of proud moms and dads last weekend by using the word "pusillanimous," adding that it "doesn't have anything to do with p - - - y." (The word means lacking in courage). Stahl claimed through a CBS spokesman she actually said "pussycat." An excerpt from her speech posted on Loyola's Web site doesn't include the contested remark. Asked to clarify what Stahl said, a Loyala rep told us, "We have no interest in commenting." She declined to release the rest of the tape." [P6]

Gruesomely, this isn't the first time we've had to hear about Stahl and sex.

Mike Wallace, Howard Stern–what's the difference? There is none. Not really. Not anymore. Everybody confesses everything now, and no topic is out of bounds when the camera light goes on.

All right, let's back up for a moment. On the night of Jan. 6, 60 Minutes correspondent Leslie Stahl paid a visit to Diane Sawyer on ABC's 20/20 to plug her new book, Reporting Live . Ms. Stahl more or less told Ms. Sawyer that her devotion to big-time TV journalism made her a rotten wife and mother. Ms. Sawyer mentioned that she once saw Ms. Stahl crying on the phone in the White House press room. And on and on, la-di-da, anything to promote a book, right?

The conversation eventually turned to Ms. Stahl's husband, Urban Cowboy screenwriter Aaron Latham, and how depressed he was for, oh, about three years in the 80's. Ms. Stahl was telling Ms. Sawyer about how her colleague Mike Wallace set her straight, instructing her to make sure that she got some help for her husband. At this point in the 20/20 interview, Ms. Sawyer and Ms. Stahl visited Mr. Wallace in his office over at CBS. He was seated behind his desk, looking great as usual. The ladies looked frightened to be in his presence. Ms. Sawyer asked Mr. Wallace to recall the stern advice he had given to Ms. Stahl all those years ago, and he happily obliged, in that million-dollar voice of his: "'You've got to see that he goes!'" Mr. Wallace said, meaning that Mr. Latham go see a psychiatrist. "And he did."

Then, there was this little nugget of conversation between Ms. Stahl and Mr. Wallace, with America listening in.

Mike Wallace: "Did he start taking antidepressants?"

Lesley Stahl: "Yes."

Mike Wallace: "And did it ruin your sex life?"

Lesley Stahl: "No." (Here, Ms. Stahl looked startled–but quickly recalling Mr. Wallace's own battle with depression and use of antidepressants, she fired back.) "Did it ruin yours?"

Mike Wallace: "For a long time, yes." (The man said these words with a twinkle, so that his meaning was clear: Those sexual difficulties are all in the past, and the old rascal is back!) [NYO]