WGA

Fake News Frets About Jon Stewart’s Return

Posted by on January 7, 2008 at 1:00 pm. 1 Comments :

Daily Show

It is the “fake news” purveyors from the likes of Fox News that will be most impacted by tonight’s return of Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show and the Colbert Report with Stephen Colbert. It has been a rough two months while these programs were sidelined by the writer’s strike. But the drought is over and politicians and journalists who have had a free ride will be vulnerable once again to the truthiness of Stewart and Colbert. I have long asserted that The Daily Show is as least as reliable a resource for useful information on current affairs as any supposedly “real” news program (see The Real Fake News).

The Writer’s Guild remains on strike and the many people associated with it are undergoing severe hardship. I would have preferred that these programs returned with their writing staff as did David Letterman’s show, but the complexities of the industry are still presenting obstacles to that scenario. But I also believe that our country needs the insight and analysis that is unique to quality satire, especially in an election year when candidates and reporters are scurrying around like cockroaches in the dark. Now we will get to see what happens when someone switches the light on again.

To be sure, these programs may not return quite the same as when they left. They are much more script-driven than talk shows like Letterman and Leno. Even the breaking news segments covered by a lone host cannot reasonably be expected to be on par with the work of a dozen talented comedy writers. They may attempt to mitigate this handicap by relying more on interviews, but that presents its own set of problems as some potential guests may decline to cross picket lines to appear on the shows. And there will be picket lines.

Although the striking writers have said that their picketing is targeted more at the networks and studios than the program hosts, who have been supportive of the writers, there will be reluctance on the part of some to cross the lines. But we should not overlook another benefit of the return of these programs: the hosts will almost certainly comment on the strike in a manner that is favorable to the writers. In fact, Stewart’s guest tonight is Ronald Seeber, Cornell University professor and associate dean in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) and co-director of the ILR School’s Institute on Conflict Resolution. I don’t think he’s there to discuss the upcoming release of Rambo.

So let’s welcome back Jon and Stephen and wish them well. I, for one will be glued to the set, grateful that the establishment pretenders in the press and the political arena will be subjected to the scrutiny and ridicule they so richly deserve.

Oh…and screw the AMPTP! Support the WGA!

Update: Jon Stewart, as I predicted, delivered an inspired rant ridiculing the AMPTP. He also gave a touching tribute to his absent writers saying that the program “The” Daily Show with Jon Stewart, was the work of a talented team that included the writers. So for the duration of the strike, the program would be called “A” Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Nice touch, Jon.

For the record: David Letterman also offered a tribute to his writers, and those still on strike, when he returned to the air. Here’s a video of Late Show writer Bill Scheft slamming the AMPTP: A Message from the WGA

Stop Hurting America Redux: Free The Daily Show

Posted by on December 16, 2007 at 1:40 pm. 2 Comments :

This is a follow up to my article proposing that the WGA negotiate individually with the production companies of The Daily Show and other comedy talk programs that feature current affairs issues: Stop Hurting America: The WGA And The Daily Show

In that article I made the argument that some of these programs contribute so much to public discourse that their absence was measurably harmful:

“While news programs continue spewing their corporatist, insider views of presidential politics throughout the strike, programs like The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, David Letterman, Saturday Night Live, etc., have become silent. This is not a trivial matter. Many of these programs have assumed a unique role in our culture by highlighting the absurd quirks and contradictions of our politicians and press. The light these programs shine on the political landscape is nowhere countervailed in the dimwitted din of the so-called Mainstream Media.”

“The tenor of our times is too tense to leave to the addle-brained punditry of CNN, Fox, et al. What’s coming round the bend of civic life in America needs to be reviewed and regurgitated by the creative minds that gave us Mess O’Potamia and ClusterF@$k To The White House.”

The day after I posted that article Patric Verrone, the president of the WGA, floated exactly the sort of proposal I was advocating:

“If any of these companies want to come forward and bargain with us individually, we think we can make a deal,”

Well, tomorrow it is going to be made official. The Guild has announced that they intend to invoke a legal right to force producers to bargain with them individually rather than as a group.

“In a letter sent to members on Saturday, negotiators for the Writers Guild of America East and the Writers Guild of America West said: ‘Each signatory employer is required to bargain with us individually if we make a legal demand that it do so. We will make this demand on Monday.'”

“The writers’ move was aimed at breaking what has been, at least in public, a united front by a small number of media conglomerates – General Electric, News Corporation, Sony, Time Warner, The Walt Disney Company, Viacom and CBS – whose entertainment units dominate the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, an industry bargaining group.”

That “small number of media conglomerates” is dominating a lot more than an industry bargaining group. They overwhelm our social consciousness, polluting our sources of entertainment and information with propaganda and commercialism. This tactic by the writers is encouraging on several levels. It hits Big Media at the core of their strength by dismantling the monolithic front that they use to batter down opponents. It empowers responsible production companies that want to fairly compensate their creative personnel and takes them out from under the shadow of their bigger brothers who never had their interests at heart in the first place.

Most importantly, for those of us concerned about keeping a tighter chain on our politicians and press as we get deeper into the campaign season, it provides hope for a return of The Daily Show and its peers. Every day that passes is a missed opportunity to reveal something new and scandalous that will probably be ignored by the Conventional Media.

AMPTP Gets Punked

Posted by on December 11, 2007 at 8:36 pm. NO Comments :

A website satirizing the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has been launched – no doubt by some enterprising and idle writers. They commandeered the domain AMPTP.com and produced a near copy of the producers site. It is absolutely hilarious. Some excerpts:

“While we’re not going to point fingers or assign blame, we do feel justified in saying that they [the writers] are entirely at fault.”

“It is now absolutely clear that the WGA’s organazis are determined to advance their own personal ideologies, political agendas, sexual preferences, barbaric tribal customs, canine wardrobe choices, religious beliefs and blood rituals upon working writers…”

“…we’ve got enough reality shows to choke a horse. Literally – one of the shows is “Can You Choke This Horse?” And for the fall, we’re already working on “Can You Choke This Horse With the Stars?”

I hope I never have to fight these guys. They are brutal.

Dems Sign On For AMPTP Image Makeover

Posted by on December 7, 2007 at 1:02 am. NO Comments :

Just when you think the cynicism meter is off the scale, you read an article like this in the Los Angeles Times:

“Seeking to shore up its flagging public image, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has turned to veteran political advisors from both sides of the aisle to guide its public relations battle with Hollywood’s striking writers.”

It’s not particularly surprising that greedy producers want to mount a campaign to make themselves look more sympathetic to the public, but the guns they’ve hired should raise an eyebrow or two. Mark Fabiani and Chris Lehane are veterans of Democratic political campaigns. Lehane has been seen recently slinging for Hillary Clinton.

What I want to know is why have Democratic consultants signed on to serve as strike breakers? This seems a bit inconsistent with the mission of a party that represents itself as worker friendly. I can’t help but wonder what Clinton and their other clients would think of this new association. But if I were a Democrat running for office, I would look elsewhere for PR advisers. And I hope the writer’s kick their butts.

Update: Lehane and Co. will pay for their betrayal. Their contracts with unions SEIU and ChangeToWin have been canceled. I don’t know what the producers are paying them, but it will have be a small fortune to make up for what they will lose on these contracts and those in the future from Democratic enterprises who will no longer do business with these strike breakers.

Stop Hurting America: The WGA And The Daily Show

Posted by on December 3, 2007 at 4:51 pm. 6 Comments :

The ongoing strike by members of the Writer’s Guild against the AMPTP is an important line in the sand for rights of the creative community in Hollywood and elsewhere. The producers have thus far proven that they are far more interested in hording their profits than in sharing credit and compensation with the people most responsible for generating those profits – the creators. But there has been an unanticipated drawback to this otherwise righteous cause that could have a significant impact on our nation.

A month from now the first of the presidential primary contests will take place in Iowa. The campaigns are already at cruising speed and the media is hurtling forward with their usual fare of speculation, conflict and the inane horserace chatter that they think passes for news. What’s missing is the perspective of what has become the most insightful segment of the commentator class in the 21st century – Satire.

While news programs continue spewing their corporatist, insider views of presidential politics throughout the strike, programs like The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, David Letterman, Saturday Night Live, etc., have become silent. This is not a trivial matter. Many of these programs have assumed a unique role in our culture by highlighting the absurd quirks and contradictions of our politicians and press. The light these programs shine on the political landscape is nowhere countervailed in the dimwitted din of the so-called Mainstream Media.

Numerous studies have concluded that programs like The Daily Show are much more than comic relief. They have been shown to contain as much news content as the news programs they lampoon. They are a top source of news for young viewers/voters. They are a staple in the media diet for information about our nation and our world. Two years ago I wrote “The Real Fake News” to juxtapose the legitimacy of the Daily Show as compared to the pretenders in the “serious” press:

“While esteem for the media is spiraling ever-lower, respect for The Daily Show continues to grow. It receives awards for both its humor and its news content. And it performs the function of a media watchdog, alerting us to the hypocrisy, collaboration, and contrivance of the corporate-dominated media.”

For these reasons they should be allowed to continue in production along with the rest of television news programming. The absence of the perspective of The Daily Show could have a measurable effect on public opinion including the presidential race. In just one month since the strike began, there have been stories and events that would have been covered by TDS in a manner that no other outlet would have the courage to get near. Imagine, for instance, Jon Stewart’s take on Rudy Giuliani’s “Tryst Fund” affair; or the CNN/YouTube Republican debate; or the Hillary campaign office hostage crisis; or Bill O’Reilly’s book tour to Afghanistan; or the WGA strike itself. By approaching the news from angles that the straight press ignores, TDS and its peers bring out issues that would otherwise be missed or would fall from the radar before their ramifications could be fully explored.

I believe that our country is being ill-served by shutting down The Daily Show. But there is something that can be done. Because TDS can be plausibly categorized as a news program, it can be given special status with regard to the strike. The union could grant it a waiver to allow it to remain in production. Or better yet, the union could negotiate with the production company on an individual basis. This has been done in previous labor disputes. The production company can agree to terms with the union that can later be aligned with the terms that are spelled out in the final contract. In fact, by negotiating with individual production companies, the union can place tremendous pressure on the companies that do not negotiate, as well as on the AMPTP. It is a tactic that effectively divides to conquer. How long could the AMPTP hold out while their members are signing contracts independent of the Alliance?

I am calling on the WGA to enter into negotiations with TDS, its producers, and/or Comedy Central. It’s time to restore this national resource to the airwaves. The strike could drag on for many months and the loss to our social psyche is too great to rest on the potential for the warring factions to reach a settlement. The tenor of our times is too tense to leave to the addle-brained punditry of CNN, Fox, et al. What’s coming round the bend of civic life in America needs to be reviewed and regurgitated by the creative minds that gave us Mess O’Potamia and ClusterF@$k To The White House.

Any WGA members reading this are encouraged to contact your union reps and push for this solution. It can’t hurt the union (it might help), but not doing so can hurt the country. So please…stop hurting America.

UPDATE: From some comments I’ve received, it is apparent that I need to clarify my position. I am TOTALLY in support of the writer’s strike and their mission to fairly compensate their members and all creative workers. What I am proposing here would ONLY be implemented if those negotiating individually got the terms that the Guild is now demanding (at the least). The theory is that if the Guild can peel off members of the AMPTP who will agree to the Guild’s terms, then the AMPTP is weakened as their alliance falls apart. This tactic has been used in the past by and for the benefit of the union. Both the WGA and the DGA have used it successfully. Perhaps in today’s marketplace, with increasing consolidation and vertical integration, this tactic may not be as effective, but I think it is worth exploring.

I really do think that the absence of TDS and its peers has a measurably negative impact on public discourse. And these types of programs are the most effective media watchdogs around as they put the media in a critical light that no one else does – at least no one with their reach (I do it, of course, but I think TDS gets more viewers than me).

UPDATE II: The WGA agrees with me!

“So it’s interesting that, today, WGA prez Patric Verrone began calling on the more moderate CEOs to break ranks with AMPTP which he claimed is “allowing bottom-line hard-liners to rule the day.” I’ve heard top WGA’ers privately refer to this as the “Let’s Make A Deal” strategy. But it hasn’t been articulated in public until now. “If any of these companies want to come forward and bargain with us individually, we think we can make a deal,” Verrone told AP while conferring with picketing writers at NBC in Burbank.”