Letterman makes side-deal with writers

[zztype]

David Lettermanʻs Worldwide Pants Incorporated, which produces the "Late Show with David Letterman" and the "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" has inked a separate deal with the writers union to allow both shows to return to the air Wed. night, Jan. 2, 2008, with their writers on board.

Other shows and networks have not settled with the writers and plan to return to the air Wed. without their writing staffs.

[tutusue]

Re: Letterman makes side-deal with writers

Carson Daly returned earlier this month when the threat of laying off his show's staff of 70+ became reality. He wasn't willing to do that to a staff that moved with him from NY to LA, he said. Currently, no WGA side deal, no writers. The first show back repeated last night. It took guts to wing it like that but it really impressed upon me the value of a team of writers. I can't remember exactly what Daly said but something like because of the strike they could only ad lib as no writing was allowed. Hopefully he is currently taking a pre-planned vacation and hasn't already given up on his writer's strike format. Have any HTers seen his show this month?

If Letterman can cut a side deal I wonder if the others tried without success or haven't tried at all. My uneducated guess is that all the late night hosts are WGA members. I'll be DVRing the first week of Leno and Conan to see how they handle it. I don't envy them for a second. Tough job and as Daly pointed out, he's lucky because his show is only a half hour.

ETA:
IIRC, Leno and Conan can't do monologues or sketches. I'm interested to see what Letterman's format will be. During the normal monologue time, Daly talked about his support of the writers AND his support of his staff. I'm guessing he, also, has to honor the no monologue rule. I haven't watched his show enough to know if he even has time to do sketches.

ETA 2:
Just found this about Daly and his WGA strike shows.

[scrivener]

Re: Letterman makes side-deal with writers

Have any HTers seen his show this month?

Just the tail-end of whatever was on last night, so I couldn't really judge the show. You know, don't you, that Letterman, O'Brien, and Leno have all been paying their non-writing staff out of their pockets, at least through the end of the year? That's probably something Daly can't afford.

If Letterman can cut a side deal I wonder if the others tried without success or haven't tried at all.

Until last week, the WGA was negotiating with an alliance of producers, to which all the major networks belonged. Once the WGA filed for individual negotiating, each producer was free to negotiate individually. The reason Letterman was able to cut this deal is that his show and Ferguson's show are not produced by the network; they are produced by Worldwide Pants, Letterman's production company. O'Brien's and Leno's shows are owned and produced by NBC, so they are not even in on negotiations.

My uneducated guess is that all the late night hosts are WGA members.

If I remember correctly, all the late-night hosts are WGA members except Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart. I'm sure someone linked to an article that explained most of this in that other WGA thread.

I don't imagine there will be a noticeable difference in Letterman's and Ferguson's shows, since they'll have their writers back.

[tutusue]

Re: Letterman makes side-deal with writers

[...]That's probably something Daly can't afford.

Exactly!

[...]The reason Letterman was able to cut this deal is that his show and Ferguson's show are not produced by the network; they are produced by Worldwide Pants, Letterman's production company. O'Brien's and Leno's shows are owned and produced by NBC, so they are not even in on negotiations.

I should've thought of that even tho' I'm not a TV person. However, Leno's company, Big Dog Productions, co-produces his show. Guess that's not workable for the WGA.

If I remember correctly, all the late-night hosts are WGA members except Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart. I'm sure someone linked to an article that explained most of this in that other WGA thread.

Carson Daly isn't a member either. If I was curious enough and had the time I'd research how/why all writers who contribute to a show that's signed under the auspices of the WGA aren't required to be members.

I don't imagine there will be a noticeable difference in Letterman's and Ferguson's shows, since they'll have their writers back.

That's my guess too!

[timkona]

Re: Letterman makes side-deal with writers

In a world full of struggling, wanna-be, writers and comedians, I don't understand where the unions power comes from.

Walk down the street in Hollywood, on any given day, and you can find lots of folks who would love to write for these shows. Contracts with unions are like cyanide pills. Screw the power structure. Let anybody write.

[acousticlady]

Re: Letterman makes side-deal with writers

In a world full of struggling, wanna-be, writers and comedians, I don't understand where the unions power comes from.

Walk down the street in Hollywood, on any given day, and you can find lots of folks who would love to write for these shows. Contracts with unions are like cyanide pills. Screw the power structure. Let anybody write.

I think the idea of unions in general is an interesting dilemma. Whether it be for writers, stock clerks, hotel workers or whatever. Back in the day, unions were necessary because individual workers were being shafted. As an organized group, they gained power over management. Then, as with everything in this country, the unions went to the opposite extreme - demanding too much from management. Management, in turn has tried to skirt the unions using techniques such as allowing an "associate" to work 29.5 hours a week when the union contract states 30 hours for a full time employee. And so it goes....... which leads me to the thought........ how much of this strike (or any other for that matter) is more of a power struggle between the union and management?

[Random]

Re: Letterman makes side-deal with writers

If by management, you're referring to all the top-level suits that pocket a much larger share of the revenue off the blood, sweat, and tears of writers, it's a power struggle with a just cause.

The writers got shafted when they signed off on portable videorecording media, who didn't they could profit much from videocassette rentals and sales. So now that internet media download is the next big thing, they're not going to get shafted again.