Morning Discussion

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  I think Leno and Conan are doing their own writing. And if you ask me, Conan has the best chance of su... : Maddog_Delphi97
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    Conan, Stewart, and Colbert are NOT writing. As well-intentioned WGA members they are cannot put pen to ... : adpalumbo
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      Well, what about Leno? Didn't Leno find a loophole of sorts where he's allowed to write his jokes? Or a... : Maddog_Delphi97
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        I honestly don't know with Leno, but presumably he doesn't have the balls to be use written material eith... : adpalumbo
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          http://blog.mises.org/archives/007643.asp Hmmm... : Maddog_Delphi97
          • http://defamer.com/341693/strike-turns-jay-leno-and-jimmy-kimmel-into-unlikely-couchfellows : Maddog_Delphi97
          • Let's not beat around the bush. Employers are evil. Those who engage in employers tactics can dress up th... : SenorSpine
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      Does improv not count as writing? I mean, I understand that it's improvised, but it's still effectively c... : Vincent Grayson
      • It isn't protected in the WGA contract, so it doesn't count, no. The WGA is one of those BIG UNIONS and ... : adpalumbo
    • Hmm, I have a hard time believing this. It's not impossible, but really, their shows are going roughly j... : Freon
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      alright now you're just getting technical about what "writing" means : Sparhawk6
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        It's not me, it's the WGA. The upshot is that the production process is a lot different, and there's a m... : adpalumbo
        • Conan's having a ball spinning his ring for up to about 30 seconds! : Maddog_Delphi97
      • which is exactly what those fucking twat fuckhole lawyers do when they hammer out the very, very intricat... : Bean
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  The average american spends 9 years of their life watching television. Who the fuck cares. : ryuuseki
  • The average american? : pupismyname
  • oh oh how long does the average american spend talking on the phone? : Jenings
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  Everyone else that works on the show is out of work while it's off the air. I'm guessing they don't make... : dltrem
  • Most of those shows were paying their workers while shut down, although the money was coming from various... : adpalumbo
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  Fuck the writers and unions in general. : Lord Grey
  • It's the studios that are being a bunch of greedy cunts. : Modica Sol Solis
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    yeah fuck the writers! fuck the unions too! meanwhile the writers, like the ones for The Office, wr... : FrayLo
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      ^^^^ im typically not a fan of unions/striking however the writers do seem to be getting fucked a bit. t... : Dravenport
      • Fucked "a bit?" Like just with one of those baby Jesus dildos? : Freon
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      Its just I always read shit about auto worker unions and how theyre so bad. This is the same thing except... : Lord Grey
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        tell me more about why exactly unions are bad. because you read shit about auto worker unions? : FrayLo
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          Originally they were for the safety of the workers. We now have OSHA and other guidelines for that. Now t... : Lord Grey
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            safety was only part of it. more generally, they stood against unfair practices/working conditions. : dromo5
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              and there's laws and regulations for working practices now, too. : snagger
              • i wonder if there was a group of people, perhaps representing the interests of the workers, who advocated... : dromo5
        • Unions are the exact same collusion that companies exhibit in that they make scarce a resource to artific... : DianeOfTheMoon
      • are you always this judgmental without the facts? : dromo5
      • Blue collar UNIONS are often bad because they got propped up and abused by organized crime organizations.... : adpalumbo
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        As with so many things, there's a whole spectrum. There are a great many unions that only exist to artif... : DinK
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          Actually, what they want is 2.5% of the gross revenue on any "new media", which is before costs...and the... : DianeOfTheMoon
          • Most studios operate at about a 5-7 percent profit margin That's FUD right there, much like what you'r... : adpalumbo
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      Good writers are few and far between, there are a lot of hacks in hollywood that will benefit from this a... : skitzo
      • true, although the counterargument to that would be that good writers likely couldn't last long enough to... : ttyRazor
    • As with nearly every union these days, if the employee doesn't feel that he is being treated well, then h... : Anti_dentite
  • #6874

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    By: Freon x Show Full Post

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    My general take is let them duke it out. Let them organize, but don't discourage or encourage it. If the unions want to strike, fuck it, let them (short of air traffic controllers, nuclear power plant engineers, etc). If the employers want to fire them and hire line crossers, go for it. I think this really *is* the "free market" solution, though for some reason some capitalists seems to be anti-union. It also doesn't seem to make sense to specifically support unions.
    
    I guess in the real world, lawmakers know it is unavoidable to get their hands in it one way or the other. Subtle secondary effects of some laws certainly have an impact.

    Jan 16, 2008 8:02pm PST
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    My general take is let them duke it out. Let them organize, but don't discourage or encourage it. If th... : Freon
    • Exactly, let people do what they want but don't have the government protect one side vs the other. Like ... : DinK
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    It would certainly be interesting if production companies just hired replacements. I would think that te... : DinK
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      if they do hire people, and then the companies make a deal with the WGA, everyone they hired will be blac... : Dravenport
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        Well the idea would be that they're permanent replacements because they'll clearly work for far less than... : DinK
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          Hiring permanent replacements would mean that some of the most seasoned and talented writers would NEVER ... : adpalumbo
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            The most seasoned and talented writers could negotiate pretty nice deals on their own, possibly even bett... : DinK
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              The WGA contract sets a scale -- a sort of minimum wage, with some factors going in. Star talent already... : adpalumbo
              • Yeah I didn't say the union's benefits would all just evaporate. It might still make sense for some. Bu... : DinK
    • Ever had a pen stuck up your ass sideways? That's why you don't cross the line. : DarkWolf5
  • i can't watch my shows! fuck the writers cause they're not me! : dromo5
  • yeah big corporations are so much more entertaining : alexthegreat2
  • yeah screw em, after all who will stand up for the international conglomerates? : Jenings
  • I certainly trust corporations to hold my personal well-being in high esteem no matter how unprofitable i... : Kaerof
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  It sounds like there's just going to be a bigger push towards reality television. :( : Flying h4x0r
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    Yup, and that's going to really show next year since the strike is now running through next year's develo... : adpalumbo
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      I am guessing that the latest this strike lasts is June. Between now and then you have a bunch of writer... : rosewood
      • I'm sure there's good ideas, but "development" season is more than that. It effects production quality s... : adpalumbo
• I think in the long run this will bring on the death of television. We will see more user generated video... : Lord Grey
• I couldn't care. Conan has been great without the writers. : ant_hillbilly
• Well for anyone interested: this is a great article that is a perfect example of what this strike is REA... : Dookeyfingers
• what really sucks is that there won't be any new shows next year :( : Flynn
• I think it is time to pay the writers their money already : rosewood