Picketers Will Greet Colbert and Stewart

[babylonsister]

http://tvdecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/picketers-will-greet-colbert-and-stewart/

Picketers Will Greet Colbert and Stewart

By Brian Stelter

Jon Stewart will host Ronald Seeber, a “conflict resolution specialist,” on Monday’s “The Daily Show,” perhaps suggesting that some jokes about the writers’ strike are planned. (AP)

Comedy Central’s pair of news satires will resume production today after a two-month strike-induced hiatus. Small picket lines of Writers Guild of America members will be stationed outside the studios of both “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” as Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert return to their respective broadcasts.

The guild said it intended to picket outside the 11th Avenue studio of “The Daily Show” from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., and outside the West 54th Street studio of “The Colbert Report” from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Like last week’s action outside Rockefeller Plaza at the time when some of the other late-night hosts returned, the protests will be designed to dissuade potential guests from crossing the picket lines.

The Comedy Central shows have sought an agreement with the guild to return with writers, but as of Friday they had not reached a deal.

Ronald Seeber, a “conflict resolution specialist,” is scheduled to appear tonight on “The Daily Show,” perhaps indicating that Mr. Stewart will poke fun at the writers’ strike. David Frum, a columnist for The National Review, is booked for Tuesday, and Lou Dobbs, the CNN anchor, is scheduled to appear on Thursday.

Mr. Colbert’s Web site does not list any upcoming guests, though presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is expected to appear on Wednesday.

Both shows “are normally highly scripted,” Rick Kushman of McClatchy notes. He expects a heavy load of interviews. “However, like most of the other late night shows, guests will have to cross picket lines, and already, according to news reports, Colbert has been getting turned down by some people, including authors, who would usually kill for the exposure.”

[ronnykmarshall]

1. I thought they settled w/ the Unions?

Uh oh!

I heard on the news this morning that Leno is having trouble booking guests. SAG is telling it's members to go on Letterman and not Leno.

The Golden Globes also got canceled! Sucks!

If they start messing with Oscars ...... gay men will take to the streets!

[babylonsister]

3. Ronny - LOL! Straight women, too!

;)

[ronnykmarshall]

12. Go GIRL!

[Missy Vixen]

14. No Oscars? Uhhh...them's fighting words!

We'll see what happens when studios face the fact that the promotionfest known as the Oscars may not come off as a result of this.

Don't nominated films get the "Oscar bump" re: increased box office over the Golden Globes/SAG awards/Oscars time period?

Julie

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

5. Only Letterman settled. I do remember that Jon was paying out of his own pocket salaries

to his employees (including Colbert's) at the beginning of the strike. Either he has been tapped out or under contractual obligation to have the show go back on? Or both?

[babylonsister]

6. I'd bet it's a contract thing. Comedy Central must be losing money. nt

[RavensChick]

8. The Golden Globes got cancelled?

Oh. my.goodness. Looks like NBC will falter in the ratings again.

The strike has been going on for so long I never even noticed.

No Oscars this year is like no flowers growing in the spring time. And what, pray tell, will the Fashion Police do? I hope the Grammys aren't canned too. That would really start a riot!

[ronnykmarshall]

11. Globes will be held just as a press conference.

Like they did with the Latin Grammy's following 9/11.

My guess is that the Oscars will postpone until the strike is settled.

WGA is right in putting the pressure on with the award shows.

[RavensChick]

13. Makes sense

At least I can watch something else just the same.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

2. On Letterman's opening night he had a few members of TDS and The Colbert Report writing team

read from the top ten list.

[Stephanie]

4. I was out on the picket line last week and attendance was sparse.

But there's a big rally planned for Wednesday in front of Viacom. Huckabee sure loves crossing those picket lines, doesn't he?

[XOKCowboy]

7. I know that at least Jon has supported the strikers but Scabs are Scabs

I hope that they don't get any guests. I'm pretty sure that this is a corporate decision (the studios are bleeding money because of the strike) but it doesn't change the fact that they are crossing a picket line. Big time kudos to Worldwide Pants for getting an agreement before resuming taping.

I hope that TDS and TCR reach an agreement soon. I also hope it's an incentive for the studio's to bargain in good faith and settle the strike.

[in_cog_ni_to]

9. LOU DOBBS will cross the picket line??? DAMN PIG! I'm glad their shows will be picketed.

SUPPORT UNIONS!

[bullwinkle428]

18. What a filthy, hypocritical piece of garbage that guy is!! Like we

needed more evidence after what Keith talked about several weeks back (talking about Dobbs' involvement with show horses and that business' use of illegal aliens in the labor force)...

"Mr. I'm All About the American Worker" :eyes: :eyes: :eyes:

[RebelOne]

20. Oh, it's OK for Leno, Letterman, Colbert and Stewart

to cross the picket lines, but Lou Dobbs does and you call him names?

[pretzel4gore]

10. there's an undercurrent of anti union bias

too bad the larger union movement wouldn't make the writer strike effective- workers should get fair pay for their work...strikes like this often fail, with the collective bargaining unit ruined, and vile bastards like disney, viacom and fox etc are empowered

[MaineDem]

15. As well they should

I can sympathize with the shows losing the opportunity to deal with the current political scene but settle with the writers guild then! I'm extremely disappointed in both Stewart and Colbert.

Aren't they union members?

[SidDithers]

16. Stewart last night intimated that ...

he wanted to settle, and had been given the go-ahead by the company to settle with his writers, but the WGA is choosing not to settle with him. In his typical way, he made a joke about anti-semitism :) He and Seeber talked about the WGA settling with targetted groups only (Worldwide Pants and United Artists) as a way to put extra pressure on the remaining production companies.

Last night, it was very apparent that he would rather not be doing his show while the strike is on. He changed the name from The Daily Show to A Daily Show. The comedy during his show pointed out the ridiculous situation of the production companies charging for internet content ($1.99 for iTunes downloads of the Daily Show) but not providing a portion of that revenue to the writers responsible for the content.

Similarly, Colbert pronounced the hard "t" at the end of Colbert and Report to differentiate between his real show, and the pseudo-show that he and Stewart are being forced to do.

It'll be interesting to see if they can keep up the schtick for an extended period, if the strike lingers.

Sid

[riverdeep]

19. Yeah, I caught both shows.

People who are calling them scabs should watch the shows first. Of course, by watching, some feel they're participating in the scabbery, so it's kind of a catch-22. Regardless, anyone who questions what side these guys are on should check it out. 'A' Daily Show in particular had a wierd vibe, very somber, like someone just died. I'm not sure how he's going evolve from here if they don't settle. Colbert had the good fortune of being able to hide behind his clueless and corporate-kissing character, so his show was more entertaining.

I wish the WGA would make an effort to work with these shows, because these two have bent over backwards to do what they could.

[blogslut]

17. I hope Jon and Stephen go outside and interview the picketing writers

That's what I would do :)