2008 Woodie Awards
Issues: Should Comedy Central stars break the writer's strike?
Colbert and Stewart are scabs.
Evan Didier
Issue date: 1/29/08 Section: Issues
By returning to the air without agreements with the Writers' Guild of America, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central are sending a clear message to television audiences: business trumps organized labor. Despite what either of them, particularly Stewart, may say in support of the WGA strike, their actions speak louder than their (now supposedly unscripted) words. They opted to enrich themselves and their media conglomerate
It's not that the WGA is unwilling to negotiate with individual production companies. In fact, the WGA has reached interim agreements with a number of groups that allow writers to return to shows and production companies in exchange for accepting the guild's stipulations on matters such as writers' compensation for DVD sales and Internet-derived revenue. The Weinstein Company, United Artists and David Letterman's production company all took that route with relatively little acrimony.
There was nothing that prevented "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" from doing the exact same thing as their peers. (All they had to do was agree to WGA demands, which Stewart and Colbert ostensibly support.) While it is certainly disappointing that Stewart and Colbert would not agree to WGA stipulations, it is downright farcical for them to exude a pretense of solidarity with the writers and then cross picket lines to tape shows. A true demonstration of their solidarity would have been to use their celebrity as a bargaining chip to force their parent company, Viacom, to negotiate with the WGA. To state it simply- Stewart and Colbert are scabs.
Had either show agreed to an interim deal with the WGA, it would have marked a high-profile acceptance of WGA terms and pressured major television and film studios to consider the legitimacy of the WGA's positions. As it stands, the decision by Stewart and Colbert to resume broadcasting without an agreement only strengthens the resolve of other media corporations to defy the writers. These corporations can survive fiscally without writers, at least for a short period of time, until advertisers get upset at low ratings and pull their sponsorships.
On the other hand, the vast majority of WGA members need paychecks to survive. If they cannot outlast the media's waiting game, they will likely be forced to acquiesce. It's no big secret that the best bargaining chip the WGA has is the ire of advertisers as the strike drags onwards. But with the return of Stewart and Colbert, advertisers are unlikely to pull their advertising dollars from Comedy Central and Viacom will continue to acquire the financial resources it needs to wait and strong-arm the WGA into accepting an unsavory deal.
Even if Stewart and Colbert were unable or unwilling to compromise with the WGA, the absence (or monotonous reruns) of "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" would have done far more for the WGA than any half-hearted on-air efforts to promote the strike. It would have struck a blow against the media conglomerates in the only place where they can feel pain: their bottom line.
It's not that the WGA is unwilling to negotiate with individual production companies. In fact, the WGA has reached interim agreements with a number of groups that allow writers to return to shows and production companies in exchange for accepting the guild's stipulations on matters such as writers' compensation for DVD sales and Internet-derived revenue. The Weinstein Company, United Artists and David Letterman's production company all took that route with relatively little acrimony.
There was nothing that prevented "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" from doing the exact same thing as their peers. (All they had to do was agree to WGA demands, which Stewart and Colbert ostensibly support.) While it is certainly disappointing that Stewart and Colbert would not agree to WGA stipulations, it is downright farcical for them to exude a pretense of solidarity with the writers and then cross picket lines to tape shows. A true demonstration of their solidarity would have been to use their celebrity as a bargaining chip to force their parent company, Viacom, to negotiate with the WGA. To state it simply- Stewart and Colbert are scabs.
Had either show agreed to an interim deal with the WGA, it would have marked a high-profile acceptance of WGA terms and pressured major television and film studios to consider the legitimacy of the WGA's positions. As it stands, the decision by Stewart and Colbert to resume broadcasting without an agreement only strengthens the resolve of other media corporations to defy the writers. These corporations can survive fiscally without writers, at least for a short period of time, until advertisers get upset at low ratings and pull their sponsorships.
On the other hand, the vast majority of WGA members need paychecks to survive. If they cannot outlast the media's waiting game, they will likely be forced to acquiesce. It's no big secret that the best bargaining chip the WGA has is the ire of advertisers as the strike drags onwards. But with the return of Stewart and Colbert, advertisers are unlikely to pull their advertising dollars from Comedy Central and Viacom will continue to acquire the financial resources it needs to wait and strong-arm the WGA into accepting an unsavory deal.
Even if Stewart and Colbert were unable or unwilling to compromise with the WGA, the absence (or monotonous reruns) of "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" would have done far more for the WGA than any half-hearted on-air efforts to promote the strike. It would have struck a blow against the media conglomerates in the only place where they can feel pain: their bottom line.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Union
posted 2/01/08 @ 9:19 PM CST
"Even if Stewart and Colbert were unable or unwilling to compromise with the WGA, the absence (or monotonous reruns) of "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" would have done far more for the WGA than any half-hearted on-air efforts to promote the strike. (Continued…)
totally cool
posted 2/25/08 @ 10:43 AM CST
this is awsome what a fanomal contuiious development of kinden
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