Snark Weighs In

STRIKEWATCH: Negotiations Take Bad Turn; Plus, Writers Blast Hinsey

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posted Friday, 30 November 2007

 

After four days of negotiations, the WGA has lifted its press blackout, and is giving their take on this week's meetings.  According to them, the AMPTP has only moved about a centimeter from where they were pre-strike, and the WGA is not happy.  However, the AMPTP has posted its own news that says the two sides aren't so far apart.  The AMPTP says it's willing to pay out an additional $130 million over the next three years, while the WGA wants $151 million.  Could talks really be breaking down again over a $21 million split?  If the WGA's characterization of the current proposals is true, me thinks the AMPTP is doing some shady accounting. 

Meanwhile, our old buddy Carolyn Hinsey appeaars to have shoved her foot in her mouth again.  (Not hard, since she's got a big mouth.)  In the current issue of SOD, Hinsey writes:

"As I write this, daytime writers are on strike over issues that, as far as I can tell, do not have much to do with soap operas. Soaps are not released on DVD or streamed onto the Web. Some are available, but the networks only wish young people would download soaps on their iPods and watch them. (Hello, young demos!) But daytime scribes are in the Writers Guild, so they have to walk away.

"Personally, I think soap writers should be exempt from this strike. Soap ratings have never been lower and no good can come of all these people walking away from their jobs. Either the shows will get worse, ratings will fall more and shows will get canceled - which means fewer writing jobs in daytime - or the producers filling in for the striking writers will do a better job and take over.

"Talk about screwing the pooch."

Leave it to Hinsey to take a reasonable point (this strike has put soaps between a rock and a hard place) and completely futz it up.  First, Hinsey says that soaps are not released on to the web or DVD, and then follow up in the very next sentence with "Some are available."  Then, why the hell did you write that first sentence?  That's likewhen  Rachael Ray says E.V.O.O. then says "Extra Virgin Olive Oil."

Hinsey then says that the shows will either get worse without the writers or get better--damned if you do, damned if you don't--so you best git back to work, writers, y'hear!  You've had your fun, now let's mozey on back to the corporate plantation!  People think Variety is the voice of the conglomerates, but this takes the cake. 

And why on earth would the producers write better shows?  The producers have been there right alongside the writers, the execs, the advertisers, and everybody else who has pushed soap operas into their precarious state.  Even if every failed storyline and half-baked idea over the past twenty years came from a writer, it's the producers and higher-ups who approved that garbage.  So, either they're approving awful ideas, or they're turning good ideas into awful ones--either way, the notion of them doing a better job is laughable, and sounds like it came straight from the halls of ABC.

The writers aren't particularly impressed with Hinsey either, because they've sent her an open letter, which is available on We Love Soaps.  An excerpt:

"You suggest we exempt ourselves from this strike. But why? We’re steamed. Days of Our Lives has been available for sale on the net for over a year. Writers’ share? Zilch. And though Televest entered into an agreement with us, other producers have yet to do the same. You suggest daytime writers are ill-timed in their demands? We say we’ve been extremely patient. "

The letter goes on to assert that serial audiences aren't shrinking, but the way they access content is diversifying.  If, as many writers seem convinced is going to happen, soaps start moving to the Internet only, they won't get anywhere near the same level of compensation that they get now.   The letter basically sounds sensible, which isn't hard when you're standing in opposition to Carolyn Hinsey.

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comments (2)


1. LMJ left...
Saturday, 1 December 2007 10:32 am

The strike's first victims:

  • 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


2. DS0816 left...
Sunday, 2 December 2007 8:49 pm

I never used to pay attention to SOAP OPERA DIGEST's Carolyn Hinsey. (I'd give her proper title credit in that previous sentence -- only I don't think she's important enough for me to look her up at SOD's Web site.) All that's worth pointing out by me about Hinsey is that the individual is a … DISASTER. (I think folks here know this. They just weren't using that particular word, "disaster.")