Letterman fans can get a fix online during the strike

I have to say that I'm not now, nor have I ever been, a member of a union. So, I'm not sure why I've been so interested in the WGA strike. Maybe it's because I'm tired of seeing Letterman reruns already. On the bright side, I'm able to get a little Late Show freshness on a new blog. The striking Late Show with David Letterman writers are blogging the strike at LateShowWritersOnStrike.com. The posts consisting of jokes, photos and video are laugh-out-loud funny. A word of warning, though. Obviously, these guys aren't web designers, and they've packed so much crap on the site, that it freezes up my browser. It's still well worth the effort. Here's one of the videos:

Well played, CBS News

Looks like CBS is trying to put the kibosh on any extra strike publicity. The Democratic Presidential debate scheduled for December 10 has been canceled. CBS News was to host the debate, but with a strike by CBS News employees a real possibility, the candidates had vowed not to cross the picket line. Now, that's not really an issue, is it?

Whoopi Goldberg's radio show is on the ropes

I'm not right very often, so it feels good when I actually am right about something. WKTU-FM in New York canceled the Whoopi Goldberg Show. Losing New York is going to be the death blow for this show.

If only someone had predicted this way back when the show was first announced.

CBS News strike follow-up

As I previewed here, and evidently didn't catch the typo in the title, the CBS News employees who are represented by the Writers Guild of America have voted to authorize a strike. Authorizing a strike doesn't mean that a strike has been called, and there's no indication that the workers will walk out.

CBS News is hosting a Democratic Presidential debate scheduled for December 10. Most, if not all, of the candidates have promised not to cross the picket line if a strike happens. You have to figure that if there's no contract in place by December 10, there will indeed be a strike.

New "Family Guy" to air Sunday without OK from showrunner

The Writers Guild strike might get a wee nastier if Fox goes through with its plans to air a new episode of Family Guy this Sunday. The show's creator/producer/writer/voice artist Seth MacFarlane is on strike with the rest of the WGA. Ordinarily, an episode doesn't air unless he has given it his final approval. But, Fox is ready to skip that step for Sunday. The network has the right to do that, but MacFarlane feels that it would sully his relationship with Fox.

Lots of these showrunners who write and produce are running into conflicts. Their writer side is supposed to be on strike, while the producer in them is supposed to be showing up for work. The fact that MacFarlane also voices some of the characters only makes things messier.

Wanna know what else is weird? Family Guy was brought back thanks to strong DVD sales. Now, MacFarlane is on strike to get a bigger cut of those same DVD sales.

So, will Fox go ahead and air a new Family Guy this Sunday? You'll have to tune in and see.

Nancy Grace in the hospital

Headline News host Nancy Grace has been hospitalized due to some blood clots in her lungs. She just gave birth to twins on November 4 after doctors induced labor. According to Headline News PR folks, Grace had developed pulmonary edema and recommended delivering her babies two months early. This past Sunday she was taken to the hospital when she started feeling bad. That's when doctors discovered the clots. The 48-year-old is expected to be in the hospital for the rest of the week.

Imus coming back to TV

With the recent news that Don Imus was coming back to radio on New York's WABC-AM, fans were left wondering if he'd get a new TV deal. RFD-TV announced today that they signed a 5-year deal to carry Imus in the Morning. That's right. Imus and the Big Joe Polka Show on the same channel!



RFD-TV doesn't exactly have the reach of Imus's former TV home of MSNBC. But it is on Dish Network and DirecTV, as well as a handful of cable systems. The network targets a demographic interested in all things rural. So, there's lots of shows about livestock, country music and rodeos. You know. Rural stuff.

RFD-TV plans to put Imus on live from 6-9AM Eastern Time, and then will rebroadcast the show later from 6-9PM Eastern Time on its HD channel. It all starts on December 3.

Writers Guild strike contiunues, and radio might be next

The Writers Guild of America strike is in its third day today. Production on several TV shows has been shut down. Fans of late night TV are putting up with repeats this week. So far, that's the only effect that Americans are seeing. Word is that this may be a pretty long strike, though.

While the current strike is all about entertainment TV and movie writers, the WGA also represents some TV and radio news workers. And right now, they're having a little problem with CBS News. They've been working without a contract since April 2005 and haven't had a pay raise since April 2004.

Furthermore, CBS wants to require that local radio employees make less than network radio and TV employees. The WGA also feels that CBS wants to take steps to force the union out of some of its newsrooms.

So, next Thursday, the 500 or so WGA represented CBS News employees will vote to authorize a strike. If the strike happens, it would have an effect on national shows like Katie Couric's CBS Evening News. But, it would also have an effect on the local level at radio stations like WCBS-AM in New York and KNX in Los Angeles.

That strike wouldn't be as widespread as the current strike due to the nature of the WGA's reach. While the entertainment writers have a contract with most of the Hollywood producers through the WGA, the news workers' union affiliation is a little more fragmented. Some are represented by the WGA. Others are represented by the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET). Heck, some of them aren't even in a union at all.

On top of that, the unions negotiate separate contracts with each company. Thus, a much smaller strike.

I can't imagine that if the CBS News strike goes on at the same time as the current strike, that the CBS strike will get much national attention. But, maybe in Chicago or Washington, you would see some local coverage as local media look for a local angle on the entertainment writers' strike.

In any case, it should be interesting to see what happens.