Letterman strikes a deal with WGA!

Leave it to good-guy Letterman to be the FIRST to get a deal done with the WGA so he can come back to work with his writers and not cross a picket line. I realize he has an advantage over Stewart, Colbert and Leno because he owns his own production company, but still -- it shows that it is possible to end this strike. I hope others follow Letterman's lead.

Everyone tune in on Wed to show support!

Letterman, Ferguson returning to TV -- WGA strikes deal allowing late night shows

By JOSEF ADALIAN

The WGA and David Letterman's Worldwide Pants have reached an agreement that will allow "Late Show with David Letterman" and "Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson" to return to the air next week with their writers.

Letterman-produced shows will return Wednesday, people familiar with the situation said. A rep for Worldwide Pants declined comment.

Talks between WWP and the WGA weren't looking fruitful. But that changed within the last 48 hours, sources said.

Interim agreement is the first deal struck by the WGA with a studio since the strike began last month.

Letterman deal.

•  Key language

  to return to the air next week with their writers.

  The other shows are returning without writers.

  by pontificator on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 02:20:15 PM PDT

  •  Exactly

    I'm really happy for Letterman and his writers, just as I'm very bummed TDS and TCS are going to do their shows without the writers.

    by lapis on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 02:26:12 PM PDT

•  This...

  could well give Letterman a well-deserved (not just for his fair labor practices, but because he's funnier) win over Leno et al.

  (FWIW--Because TDS/Colbert are produced by Viacom/Comedy Central rather than an independent production company, an independent deal there is basically impossible.)

  by profmatt on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 02:26:03 PM PDT

  •  Yeah

    I'm sure it is, but I do think this interim deal proves that a deal-can-be-done without waiting another X-weeks (or months). Plus, as much as I love TDS & Colbert, those shows coming back will only prolong the strike. I blame both sides at this point, but I do believe that key people folding to the pressure to go on the air gives hope to the studios that they can continue their part in dragging this out.

    by lapis on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 02:29:47 PM PDT

    •  Here's...

      the difference.  Letterman and Ferguson are produced by Worldwide Pants, Inc. (Letterman's independent production company), which then sells/leases the product back to CBS.  The writers, et al., work for and are under contract to Worldwide Pants, not CBS.

      There's no such intermediary company for TDS/Colbert.  The contract has to be directly with CBS/Viacom/Comedy Central.  Given that they're one of the big players, the odds of them splintering are very low.

      by profmatt on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 02:33:02 PM PDT

      •  I understand that

        but Colbert and Stewart and Leno do not have to cross the picket line. They are choosing to do so after the first of the year.

        by lapis on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 02:41:21 PM PDT

        •  It's...

          a damned if they do, damned if they don't situation.  In addition to writers, there are a lot of other people who are employed by the shows who are out of work with little or no safety net there unless they come back to work--tech people, makeup folks, wardrobe folks, etc.

          During the last WGA strike, late night hosts came back in a similar timeframe, but did as little "written" material as possible--infamously, Letterman once spent 10 minutes of his show getting a professional straight razor shave on TV, and noting "this is what you're going to keep on getting."  The goal is to keep people employed while illustrating the value of writers, which I think Colbert and Stewart can and will do.  Also, if Letterman starts stomping all over Leno, even though Leno's also "new," it'll be illustrative of the power of writers to bring in revenue to the studios, which is the lanaguage that needs to be spoken.

          by profmatt on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 02:46:48 PM PDT

          •  I hope you're right

            Also, if Letterman starts stomping all over Leno, even though Leno's also "new," it'll be illustrative of the power of writers to bring in revenue to the studios, which is the lanaguage that needs to be spoken.

            I would love to see that happen. But your argument about damned-either-way is true of all strikes. When a group goes on strike, others are always, always also hurt in the process. That's the reason strikes are used as leverage in the first place. In the case of nurses, it's the patients who are hurt; with airline workers, it's others at the company and passengers, etc. While Colbert et al. may be trying to ease the pain of a few in the short-term, the net effect is to extend the strike for everyone.

            by lapis on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 02:54:06 PM PDT

            •  Nurses

              I believe that nurses are always careful that patients are NOT hurt by their strikes. That would be directly contrary to the essential mission of nurses.

              by DBunn on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 06:18:51 PM PDT

    •  Blame the AMPTP

      The WGA is, and has been, ready and willing to negotiate.

      The AMPTP walked away and has refused to act in good faith.

      

      by sukeyna on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 02:37:13 PM PDT

•  Glad to see this happen

  I look forward to watching both Letterman and Ferguson now that they have managed agreements to have all of their employees contribute to their shows.  Here's hoping their ratings are strong and encourage NBC/Comedy Central/the rest of the industry to come to a fair and rapid agreement with the WGA.

  by Nuisance Industry on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 02:32:37 PM PDT

•  Great news

  Frankly, between Letterman and Ferguson, I like Ferguson better. In any case, I'll definitely choose to watch both Letterman and Ferguson over the others. I might even drop and email or two to their advertisers telling them the same.

  Amongst the others who have or will come back without their writers, I feel worst about TDS.

  As for Carson Daly, why does anyone EVER watch him? I don't see what the appeal is about him... even with writers.

  by Sagebrush Bob on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 02:47:10 PM PDT

•  Wonderful, and I predict Letterman

  may have a big advantage in getting the best guests. They can go on his show without crossing a picket line.

  by decembersue on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 02:48:26 PM PDT

  •  Great point

    What do you bet Clooney is one of his first guests?

    by lapis on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 02:55:52 PM PDT

•  I went over to Letterman's website the other day,

  and was struck by how pro-WGA it was, with loads of links, and testimonials from writers on how supportive Dave has been of them, and continues to be.
  Mind you, while Dave owns his show, the website is a CBS property.
  Just one more reason I'm glad I'm a lifelong Letterman fan.

  by jazzmaniac on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 02:55:12 PM PDT

  •  I'd bet...

    that Letterman/Worldwide Pants has an exclusive right to determine the content of the site--Letterman and his people are notoriously hard bargainners.

    by profmatt on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 02:57:39 PM PDT

    •  As well they should be!

      by jazzmaniac on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 04:55:01 PM PDT

•  WGA Press Release

  "The Writers Guild has reached a binding independent agreement today with Worldwide Pants that will allow Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson to return to the air with their full writing staffs. This is a comprehensive agreement that addresses the issues important to writers, particularly New Media. Worldwide Pants has accepted the very same proposals that the Guild was prepared to present to the media conglomerates when they walked out of negotiations on December 7.

  Today’s agreement dramatically illustrates that the Writers Guild wants to put people back to work, and that when a company comes to the table prepared to negotiate seriously a fair and reasonable deal can be reached quickly.

  It’s time for NBC-Universal to step up to the plate and negotiate a company-wide deal that will put Jay Leno, who has supported our cause from the beginning, back on the air with his writers."

  

  by sukeyna on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 04:21:51 PM PDT

•  Couple of thoughts

  From the Variety article linked in the diary:

  It also was not immediately clear how the WGA and WWP were able to get around the fact that CBS Corp.--and not WWP--control much of the revenue that comes from streaming clips of Letterman-produced shows.

  Presumably, Letterman agreed to the WGA terms re whatever portion of such revenues do come to his production company.

  The value of this settlement, as I see it, is that 1) it establishes a precedent that such an agreement can be made, and 2) it gives a competitive advantage to at least one show that has settled with the WGA.

  Question: how many other independent production companies might make similar settlements? If there are some, and the trickle becomes a flood, then the strike will quickly resolve in WGA's favor.

  No matter the outcome, kudos to David Letterman for taking this bold action.

  by DBunn on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 06:33:41 PM PDT

•  Yay, Dave!

  I would think this would put pressure on other shows to do what they can to settle this strike.  The late night competition is pretty fierce.  Since Jay's show isn't owned independently, that means NBC, a big dog, might start exerting some pressure to end this strike.  

  (And, you just know Dave is loving being able to stick it to NBC!)

  by TracieLynn on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 08:11:59 PM PDT