Oh, right. Damn. I used to be able to write and watch TV at the same time... but again, it's mainly snippets and ellipses. That could be a graphic. What would a "snippet" look like? Scissors?
Health insurance problems for strikers.
About 250 WGA members will lose their eligibility April 1 because they did not meet the plan's 12-month earnings threshold...
According to several attendees at a WGA membership meeting on Nov. 1 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Verrone told the crowd of 3,000 members at one point "the clock will stop" on eligibility for the health plan. That pronouncement was greeted with enthusiasm.
...In recent weeks, however, WGA leaders have started admitting there's been no change in the health plan's eligibility rules. And the WGA West board voted last week to pay for a month of COBRA coverage for any member who has lost health-care coverage eligibility because of the strike.
...But informed sources said guild officials never officially asked the health plan to approve changing the eligibility rules because of the strike.
...A recent email message from strike captains to members amplified the WGA West board's plans, saying the board may continue the COBRA payments on a monthly basis if the strike continues. And it also said the final deal between the guild and the AMPTP could include a recommendation that extended coverage be provided for those impacted by the strike.
More details at Variety.com.
So, Nikki Finke is still fighting off the creeping crud, but post this bit of gossip:
I've been told that the WGA-mogul negotiations get a kick-start on Friday when Peter Chernin returns from London and rejoins the talks in person. He's also cancelled his Super Bowl tickets for Sunday in order to stay in town.
My emphasis. Must be big. Or he hates the Giants and the Pats equally anyway. One or the other.
Two more interim agreements, with The Film Department and Intermedia. I get 'Intermedia', but what kind of name is "The Film Department?' Branding, people. Branding. Clearly they really need those writers.
The WGA has called off a Wall Street event next week which was to target CBS investors. Sounds like this is being interpreted as good news, even if it's just 'let's not antagonize CBS right now.' CBS is getting hard hit by the strike -- three articles reporting ratings in the 18-49 group gave three different figures, but the one which specified that the comparison is to the same week last year gave it as a 23 percent drop. The CW dropped 46 percent, though. CBS doesn't even lose the best. The NYPost noted that
There are signs that viewers are already sick of watching the same thing....
Ad buyers blame the incessant reruns for years of declining broadcast ratings. The overall percentage of repeats during regular program hours has more than doubled in the past couple of decades.
Twenty years ago, less than 15 percent of regular program hours during non-sweeps months - December, January and March - were repeats, according to Sternberg's analysis. Today, that figure is around 40 percent.
Yup.
And here's a fun headline.
'R-word' spells trouble for biz
Recession on congloms' radar
Here's another good headline:
Strike News: No Strike News
There's some back-and-forth about the DGA deal/those who disapprove of the DGA deal/etc. I liked this:
The Corporate Media Tries Out a New Narrative for the Writers' Strike: The New York Times and the Writers' Strike, Part 3.
Here is the new narrative line in a nutshell
HOLLYWOOD UNDER THREAT!
RADICALS IN SAG ARE PUSHING WRITERS TO CONTINUE A POINTLESS STRIKE
Radical Writers at a Web Site called "UNITED HOLLYWOOD" are Disrupting Quiet Negotiations
Radical writers and SAG told to sit down and keep quiet
It's a response to this NYTimes piece.
And there's a WGA Strike For Dummies post (or two) up, and a site (Voices4Action) posting video interviews of WGA members; and on that topic, the Smithsonian Channel has a video "Mr. Colbert Goes to Washington." America's Storyteller (And so can you!).
<div> Smithsonian Channel: Stephen Colbert at the National ... Uploaded by smithsonianchannel</div>
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