Public curiosity over Clark's condition and his return to television helped "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2006" draw in over 20 million viewers throughout the night, and score a 7.1 audience share among the key demographic of 18- to 49-year-olds. Reaction to Clark's appearance was mixed. While some TV critics (including Tom Shales of "The Washington Post", in an interview with the CBS Radio Network) felt he was not in good enough shape to do the broadcast, stroke survivors and many of Clark's fans praised the emcee for being a role model for people dealing with post-stroke recovery. "The New York Times"' Brian Stelter compared Seacrest's new role as co-host of "Rockin' Eve" to being like a "traffic cop", "tossing to bands and correspondents and to Mr. Clark for the countdown."