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    By: Freon This person is cool! x Show Full Post
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    What does everyone think of the current state of the WGA strike, in light of a number of well-known shows coming back on the air? Besides Letterman, who everyone knows made a deal with his writers, and even seems to have paid them for the past several months of the strike.

    Leno. Daily Show. Colbert Report. Not just that they're on, but who is writing for them? I have a hard time thinking it's just the producers and hosts writing all this. Scabs? How long is this strike going to really last? They all keep seem to be saying the support the writers, but coming back on the air distinctly is not very supportive.
    Jan 16, 2008 7:24pm PST
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    What does everyone think of the current state of the WGA strike, in light of a number of well-known show... : FreonThis person is cool!

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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_Delphi97This person is cool!
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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_Delphi97This person is cool!
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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_Delphi97This person is cool!
              • http://defamer.com/341693/strike-turns-jay-leno-and-jimmy-kimmel-into-unlikely-couchfellows : Maddog_Delphi97This person is cool!
              • Let's not beat around the bush. Employers are evil. Those who engage in employers tactics can dress up th... : SenorSpineThis person is cool!
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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 GraysonThis person is cool!
          • 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... : FreonThis person is cool!
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          alright now you're just getting technical about what "writing" means : Sparhawk6This person is cool!
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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_Delphi97This person is cool!
          • which is exactly what those fucking twat fuckhole lawyers do when they hammer out the very, very intricat... : BeanThis person is cool!
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      The average american spends 9 years of their life watching television. Who the fuck cares. : ryuusekiThis person is cool!
      • The average american? : pupismynameThis person is cool!
      • 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... : dltremThis person is cool!
      • 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... : FrayLoThis person is cool!
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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? : FreonThis person is cool!
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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? : FrayLoThis person is cool!
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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. : snaggerThis person is cool!
                  • 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... : DinKThis person is cool!
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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... : skitzoThis person is cool!
          • true, although the counterargument to that would be that good writers likely couldn't last long enough to... : ttyRazorThis person is cool!
        • As with nearly every union these days, if the employee doesn't feel that he is being treated well, then h... : Anti_dentiteThis person is cool!
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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... : FreonThis person is cool!
        • Exactly, let people do what they want but don't have the government protect one side vs the other. Like ... : DinKThis person is cool!
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        It would certainly be interesting if production companies just hired replacements. I would think that te... : DinKThis person is cool!
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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... : DinKThis person is cool!
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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... : DinKThis person is cool!
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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... : DinKThis person is cool!
        • Ever had a pen stuck up your ass sideways? That's why you don't cross the line. : DarkWolf5This person is cool!
      • i can't watch my shows! fuck the writers cause they're not me! : dromo5
      • yeah big corporations are so much more entertaining : alexthegreat2This person is cool!
      • 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... : KaerofThis person is cool!
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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... : rosewoodThis person is cool!
          • 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... : DookeyfingersThis person is cool!
    • what really sucks is that there won't be any new shows next year :( : FlynnThis person is cool!
    • I think it is time to pay the writers their money already : rosewoodThis person is cool!