by Pamela Sosnowski

Created on: October 25, 2008

Martha Stewart is everywhere. She has her own daytime television show, a radio program on Sirius radio, a magazine (Martha Stewart Living) that is still going strong after 25 years of publication, a new cookbook, and partnerships to sell Martha Stewart branded merchandise with several retail giants. And that's just the tip of the Marthapedia empire.

Why does any of it matter? Because she's this decade's unofficial comeback kid, whether the media that skewered her during her stock market trial wants to admit it or not. And I admire her all the more for it.

No one is more surprised by this than I am. For years, I heard the same stories that the general public may be familiar with: that Martha's explosive temper and controlling drive destroyed her marriage, that she would get frustrated and scream at her elderly mother while taping segments on her old TV program, that she would routinely visit stores and demand that she be allowed to take home items for free, and that she even squandered money from a Paul Newman charity event to go to her bank account instead of his "Hole in the Wall" Camp for ill kids. Most of these nasty accusations came from an unauthorized biography published in 1997 called "Just Desserts." As a result, I purposely avoided her presence on television and in print for several years. Then her stock scandal brouhaha hit the fan: Martha was accused of unloading shares of ImClone stock just before their value tanked, was found guilty, and sentenced to five months in prison. When she emerged, her brand bounced back stronger than ever, despite the dire media predictions that she'd be as finished as her crown pork dish served to a bunch of ravenous lions. Her daytime show is a hit (it has to be if was just renewed for its third season), and celebrity guests gush over and kowtow to her as much as the viewers that call seeking on-air answers to their homemaking questions. What happened? Could it be that she's a kinder, gentler Martha Stewart now?

Donald Trump may not agree with that assessment (Martha insisted that she was supposed to be filmed kicking the Donald off of "The Apprentice" and be crowned the new Apprentice queen) but I do think Martha has made an impressive effort to thaw her previously frosty reputation. People who tell me that they do not like Martha Stewart usually do not watch her show. There are times where the crafts and recipes get stale and overpriced (believe me, some people aren't worth the effort to craft bows with "real" ribbon

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