Chicagoist: Writer's Guild Goes on Strike (and Guess Whose Side We're On)

starcrunch

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 14:52:18 -0600

Wait...so when you get married, you start watching more TV? Is it because you spend less time in bars, or because you have less interests outside of the home? Or if you marry someone who puts on their pajamas right after work, do you feel obligated to do so as well? I really am curious. I watch very little TV, but I probably would if I had more time. I hate those elitist "I don't watch TV people" (a la http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28694). My last bf was that way, so proud of not owning a TV, then I found out he was secretly downloading his favorite shows in iTunes.

baker2gs

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 14:50:21 -0600

According to this article they are reporting that Jon Stewart is paying his writers for the Daily Show and Colbert Report for the next 2 weeks. I'm assuming they're still picketing though as the should if they are a member of the union. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/11/05/stewart-to-pay-his-writer_n_71164.html

Ferdy

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 14:17:47 -0600

The fact that other industries do it differently makes no different. Salary plus points have been the standard in the entertainment industry for decades. The writers deserve their fair share. And considering virtually every major media outlet in the United States is massively biased toward business, the Guardian provides some much-needed balance. Of course, it had to come from outside the U.S.

whymustiregister

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 14:13:57 -0600

If by "best" you mean massively biased towards one side in the strike. (Of course it is the Guardian, so what does one expect?) It looks to me like the writers expect to both get paid in cash upfront and get a piece of the action down the road. In basically every other industry, you get wages or equity, not both.

huckeyes

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 13:28:42 -0600

I'm proud of the fact that I love TV. Maybe people who are too good for TV have a serious inferiority complex and would rather act like elitist snobs?? (TonyB I'm looking at you.)

Ed Knittel

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 13:27:18 -0600

While I support the unions in their strike, I just have to ask, "who watches television anymore?" Seriously, who actually prefers to stay home and watch TV? Seems like something old people do because they've got nothing else going on. JoeM500 and TonyB are obviously not married. I'm saying this a 30 year old married man.

TonyB

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 12:54:56 -0600

I'm lucky if I see more than two hours of TV each week. Take out sports and To Catch A Predator and it goes to zero. Seriously, who actually prefers to stay home and watch TV? Seems like something old people do because they've got nothing else going on.

Ferdy

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 12:13:54 -0600

This is the best article I've read about the strike: http://film.guardian.co.uk/patterson/story/0,,2203146,00.html

Stephen

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 11:49:10 -0600

Arent' Leno and Stewart and other late nighters comedians? Can't they run a show for a few weeks on their own wit and interviews? I know they all have writers who write jokes at the begining of the show for them, but can't they just interview people and do the other stupid and witty sayings themselves?Those comedians all cut their teeth in the comedy world as writers, and were (are still?) most likely members of the WGA. The optimist in me wishes to believe that folks like Stewart, Leno, and even Oprah are standing in solidarity with their writers by not allowing new shows until WGA members get a new deal.

JoeM500

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 11:22:21 -0600

While I support the unions in their strike, I just have to ask, "who watches television anymore?"

Ferdy

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 11:09:09 -0600

Oprah has produced segments that she can't just wing. You don't really think that Leno can be funny on his own, do you?

huckeyes

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 11:00:05 -0600

What the heck does Oprah need writers for? She can't think of her own questions? Arent' Leno and Stewart and other late nighters comedians? Can't they run a show for a few weeks on their own wit and interviews? I know they all have writers who write jokes at the begining of the show for them, but can't they just interview people and do the other stupid and witty sayings themselves?