Interesting to learn that the P&G shows *are* paying their writers for streaming internet content. P&G isn't the evil company it's often made out to be, IMO.

Sounds like the strike isn't anywhere close to over, although the WGA may be exaggerating in order to play out this contract negotiation in the media.

Check out the link to this ad that the Daytime writers took out in Variety today.

http://www.wgaeast.org/index.php/articles/...?wgra=1#wga1137

My only caveat about the open letter is:

The reason more soaps aren’t released on DVD is because complete episodes can already be downloaded on NBC, ABC and CBS websites.

Those are only current episodes, and the word downloaded implies that people are buying them. They are actually just being streamed, except for Days Of Our Lives. I'm sure classic episodes of current shows would be a big hit. It would be nice to know if there are plans to provide compensation for podcasts on the basis of making writers' work downloadable, even for free.

Check out the link to this ad that the Daytime writers took out in Variety today.

http://www.wgaeast.org/index.php/articles/...?wgra=1#wga1137

If the writer send that out to Variety, then it must be the final(?) list.

AMC

James Harmon Brown

B&B

Bradley Bell

Michael Minnis

Kay Alden

Elizabeth Snyder

DAYS

Dena Higley

Renee Godelia

Meg Kelly

Gordon Rayfield

GH

Garin Wolf

GL

Christopher Dunn

Lloyd Gold

OLTL

Fran Myers

Michelle Poteet Lisanti

Jeanne Marie Ford

Gary Tomlin (Fi-Core)

PSNS

James E. Reilly

Marlene Clark Poulter

Darrell Ray Thomas, Jr.

Shawn Morrison

Clem Egan

Pete T. Rich

Y&R

Josh Griffith (Fi-Core)

So now the question is, why aren't these writers on the list???? I can't help it but wonder........

Even though this late-night, it shows the studios are starting to play hard bsll

Shocked Leno staffers fired as strike drags on

By Paul BondFri Nov 30, 11:47 PM ET

A couple of days after the Writers Guild of America strike began November 5, the star of "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" told some 80 of his idled staffers that they need not worry about their finances.

Leno was so adamant about paychecks being safe, many didn't bother looking for new jobs even though NBC was forecasting layoffs.

So it came as quite a shock Friday when the entire staff was told that they were not only out of a job but also that they weren't guaranteed of being rehired once "The Tonight Show" returns.

"Some people were crying. Some people were screaming," said one employee speaking on condition of anonymity.

NBC declined comment on the firings beyond a brief statement that it had "regretfully informed the people who work on 'The Tonight Show With Jay Leno' and 'Late Night With Conan O'Brien' that their services are not needed at this time due to our inability to continue production of the shows."

According to several staffers, tensions at "Tonight Show" have been mounting for weeks, and matters weren't helped by news that other late-night hosts have been preserving the jobs of their nonwriting staffs or paying those who had been laid off. O'Brien confirmed Thursday, for example, that he would pay the salaries of at least 50 nonwriting "Late Night" staffers out of his own pocket on a week-to-week basis.

Some "Tonight Show" insiders are angry at Leno, because of an upbeat conference call he held shortly after the WGA strike began.

"He was on speaker phone," a staffer said. "There were 80 of us. He told us not to panic. He said to trust him. He said: 'I can't get into details, but nobody will miss a car payment or lose their house. We're family. Trust me. I'm going to take care of this.' But that was the time we should have been looking for new jobs."

More recently, a letter NBC sent to now-laid-off staffers said, "If your services are needed, we will contact you."

"That's standard boilerplate," said Joe Medeiros, a striking writer who has worked with Leno for 18 years. "It's corporate butt-covering."

According to insiders, the early confidence that Leno expressed stemmed from several options in the works, including the hiring of guest hosts. Leno himself guest-hosted for "The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson" during the 1988 writers strike, according to the WGA. This time around, comedian Wanda Sykes was a top pick, but she turned down the offer. Using rock stars on a rotating basis also was considered, insiders said.

Another option was having Leno do a show without a monologue or writers, relying heavily on musical acts and stand-up comedians.

None of the options, though, came to fruition, and "The Tonight Show" has continued airing reruns.

Beyond Leno's misplaced optimism about the financial well-being of his staff, he further damaged himself -- in the eyes of some workers -- with his public behavior. While he privately expressed concern for the jobs of all staff members, to the media he seemed preoccupied with supporting striking writers, including handing out doughnuts to picketers and mugging for press photos.

"He even joked that because of the writers strike, he had more time to work on his car collection," a staffer said. "That didn't sit well with us."

Medeiros said that Leno made his doughnut appearance on Day One of the strike at his request. "I asked him to come out and he did. We thought it sent a message to end the strike."

Asked if writers would object to Leno working without them during the strike in order to save jobs, Medeiros said: "I can't answer that. The story to me is that the corporations are doing this in order to pit groups against each other and break the strike."

The fact that some of Leno's writers are paid $500,000 or more annually also didn't sit well with suddenly out-of-work production staffers who make a fraction of that amount. Writers also are getting residuals on "Tonight Show" reruns that air during the strike.

The final indignation was a Christmas bonus that many thought lacking. Staffers with a couple of years on the job were given $200. Some higher-paid employees were awarded three days of salary or a bit more, about the same bonuses they got last year.

The Leno representative defended the bonuses as well, pointing out that they amounted to $500,000 in aggregate out of Leno's pocket. He also noted that Leno handed out $2 million five years ago to staffers in celebration of his 10th year as host.

"Jay is a very generous man," added Medeiros. "I don't know what people expected. How much more should he give over a situation that he didn't cause?"

But, said one staffer: "When the most powerful man in TV tells you to relax, then you relax. That's why we expected the bonuses to cover us through the strike. He could've at least covered us through Christmas. That would have been nice."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

That doesn't surprise me about Leno.......

Holy crap!

If I were those staffers, I would have been looking for something else when the strike began.

The reason why Leno and Conan are so solidly sticking to their guns is because they have a *BIG* fear of being replaced.

Leno should be especially worried. The poor guy has been half-assing it and riding the Tonight Show coattails since the Hugh Grant moment. If someone like Wanda Sykes, D.L. Hughley, or even Michael Ian Black(although I assume he's a WGA writer, because he's that witty) would have guest-hosted and the audience LIKED them, not only would Leno be in early retirement, but Conan might lose the Tonight Show gig to one of them.

Guest hosts and more musical performances may boost their ratings during the strike. If Wanda Sykes would have crossed the picket line, I'd have watched the Tonight Show consistently for the first time in, like, forever.

Wow that sucks, but IMO they should have still been out looking, better to be safe than sorry......

No, an AMC Christmas miracle would be Colin Egglesfield and Cameron Mathison suddenly endowed w/ real acting ability.

LMAO I choked on my water when I read this :lol:

You might think I was kidding, AMC Zendall Fan, but I'm not. Forget Christmas miracle -- if either Mathison or Egglesfield (or both) give a legitimately Emmy-worthy performance that didn't involve stripping down to his skivvies, I'd be like Fran Fine on "The Nanny": "It's the miracle of Passover! The messiah is coming!"

As far as I can tell the only soap journalist with a little integrity left is Cindi Rinehart who works for KOMO TV (ABC's affiliate) in Seattle.

Ok if you only knew what a joke and witch with a b she was conisdered in the Seattle market and the rest of the soap world...

The reason more soaps aren’t released on DVD is because complete episodes can already be downloaded on NBC, ABC and CBS websites.

Ok that's my frustration as well. You want to put together something that really speaks to having your voice be heard and "clearing up" everything---put together a letter that's correct. Because if one of the two big sticking points is Internet viewing, I would expect that in a letter such as this, it would be true, and the terms would actually be right. Otherwise, it just makes me look like the writers got pissy about a columnist and responded.

The reason more soaps aren’t released on DVD is because complete episodes can already be downloaded on NBC, ABC and CBS websites.

Ummm...when did classic episodes become available for download? That's what we want on DVD. The classic episodes! Morons!!!

Leno Shuts Down, Leaving Some Crying, "Bah Humbug"; Host Later Makes Amends

Non-WGA staffers at The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Friday put in their final day of work, their future with the late-nighter uncertain when the strike ends. According to Variety, before bidding the offices adieu, employees received their typical holiday bonus — $100 for each year of service — and the non-promise of a letter from NBC human resources saying that upon resolution of the strike, "If your services are needed, we will contact you."

While some stand by Leno's generosity, others say he has been near-incommunicado since the early days of the work stoppage. Says one staffer, "Everyone wondered, 'Is Jay going to come through?' And nothing happened. Conan [O'Brien] makes less and he said, 'I'm going to pay for my people.'" Adds another employee, "People are devastated.... A lot of people didn't look for other work, based on Jay's assurances."

UPDATE: A rep for Leno points out to TMZ that the Christmas bonuses — nearly $500,000 in total — were handed out early to mitigate the effects of the strike. As for not saying goodbye to the staff in person, Leno refuses to cross the picket line into the production offices.

UPDATE: Leno has since decided to pay out of his pocket the salaries of approximately 80 staffers, for at least the next week, a source tells the Reporter.

Linked

From TV Guide.ca for whatever it's worth:

PICKET LINE REPORT

New deal on the tableau

Hurray! Although it’s not a done deal yet, it looks like the writers’ strike will soon resolve itself and life will return to normal in the entertainment world. The networks released this following statement on Nov. 30: “The AMPTP today unveiled a New Economic Partnership to the WGA, which includes groundbreaking moves in several areas of new media, including streaming, content made for new media, and programming delivered over digital broadcast channels.

"In response, the WGA has asked for time to study the proposals. While we strongly preferred to continue discussions, we respect and understand the WGA’s desire to review the proposals. We look forward resuming talks on Dec. 4.”

Read the Y&R item further down to learn how this strike may have resulted in the ousting of the soap’s much-maligned headwriter and executive producer Lynn Marie Latham.

and

Y&R’s publicist Elise Bromberg isn’t returning my emails, so come to your own conclusions: reliable sources continue to tell me that headwriter and executive producer Lynn Marie Latham has been ousted from the show, while former Santa Barbara producer and Sony exec Steve Kent is helming Genoa City in the interim, as I reported last week. First NATAS eliminates the pre-nomination system, and now CBS/Sony is thinking about firing LML — 2007 is turning out to be not such a bad year, after all!

Edited December 3, 200718 yr by AMC Zendall Fan

Mark my words.....LML will end up on ABC.....

Ryan don't jinx us LOL. Ugh she'll probably end up on AMC