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12/30: Letterman gets his writers Jan. 2
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
David Letterman and his company Worldwide Pants came to an interim agreement with the striking Writers Guild so he can bring his writers back with him January 2, according to this New York Times story.
“We are a writer-friendly company,” Rob Burnett, the chief executive of Worldwide Pants, said to the New York Times. “We don’t have a problem giving the writers what they are asking for. We think they deserve it, and we’re happy to give it to them.”
The strike, which started Nov. 5, has effectively shut down production on most scripted TV shows and shuttered the late-night talk shows. But pressure from the networks has forced them all to come back. Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O’Brien as well as Letterman and Craig Ferguson (also owned by Worldwide Pants) will return Jan. 2 and Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert starts up again Jan. 7.
But Letterman and Ferguson will have the benefit of writers. It’ll be interesting to see how the others deal without them. They will probably do longer interviews, provide more time for standup comics and musicians and cut back on skits and monologues. Man-on-the-street interviews and unscripted banter will also fill up time.
January 2 is also the day Star 94’s Morning Mess (6 to 10 a.m) and WSB-AM’s Herman Cain (7 to 10 p.m.) debut their radio shows while Cledus T. Judd at 94.9/The Bull launches his new show January 7.
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By Deirdre
December 31, 2007 9:34 AM | Link to this
There are all sorts of implications to this. The union has set itself up to negotiate with individuals instead of the collective. By accepting Letterman’s offer, they now have set a precedent for future negotiations. I’m not sure what the legal ramifications are to that but they may have just shot themselves in the foot.