As of next week, The New York Times reports that NBC executives will have to start laying off the non-writing staff on Late Night With Conan O'Brien. The studio had been paying their salaries thus far through the strike. As such, Conan has stepped up and agreed to start paying his non-striking staff their full wages on Monday from his own pocket, if necessary. Word of this leaked to the press, with no official comments being offered by any side.
This is a very different response to the ongoing labor stoppage than Ellen DeGeneres and Carson Daly, who have both resumed production on their respective shows. With ratings down significantly in late night, studios are under increasing pressure to bring these shows back on the air, so I'm guessing there's increasing pressure on these guys to come back in. O'Brien instead is showing his support for the strike as well as his staff by putting his money where his mouth is.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-30-2007 @ 10:08AM
khamel said...
since he started as a writer im sure he feels its the only fair thing to do, if he had been a writer during the last strike (was he yet?) he would have wanted this to happen to him. i just wonder how much he will be on the line for?
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11-30-2007 @ 10:38AM
sitruc said...
Conan will be paying non-writing staff. He will not be paying writers. Still, a nice gesture.
11-30-2007 @ 11:05AM
Joey Geraci said...
Son of a bitch! Could people stop referring to Ellen going back to work like it is in a vacuum! I don't actually watch daytime TV, but I understand that Oprah, Dr. Phil, and all the rest of the Daytime slate never even took off for a single day. Is that correct? If so, I would really like to stop hearing about Ellen, alone, going back to work, like it was somehow unusual.
And I don't even like Ellen. I think the latest in-show commercial thing she did was despicable, and generally I think the show is pathetic. But the amount of negative attention that she has received for going back to work when all of her competitors have done so as well, just doesn't make any sense.
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11-30-2007 @ 12:43PM
Machine said...
It has a lot to do with the fact that Ellen is also a writer... or at least claims writer credit for her show...so she's seen as a scab.
11-30-2007 @ 1:52PM
Matthew said...
Not to mention her show, more so than any of the daytime programs, needs a written monologue. When she cut it out and proceeded without it, the basic message was "I don't need any writers to do my job."
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11-30-2007 @ 4:37PM
TomB said...
I really like this guy.
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11-30-2007 @ 11:10PM
mj said...
Enough about Ellen, okay? Whine about the View, Martha Stewart, Oprah, Dr. Phil, Tyra, etc, etc. Ellen is doing her best to make her fans happy. Just think: No fans, no show. No show, no jobs. No jobs, writers on welfare. I want the writers to be treated fairly, but come on. Why not bitch and moan at the networks, for putting on more and more game shows, and reality shows, which cost less? If these keep increasing, we won't NEED writers. Think about that!
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12-03-2007 @ 9:31PM
Tracey said...
Wait, isn't Ellen a member of the WGA? I'm not sure. If so then that is so messed up, she is absolutely a scab if she is in fact a member. First of all, she has the money to pay her crew out of her pocket like the others. What does she need another house? Second, Oprah, Dr. Phil, Regis and Kelly, etc...they aren't members and aren't writers right? I am an Ellen fan btw if that matters to those going to bash me for my view. However, if this is the case, I don't think I'll be a fan any longer.
Anyway, Conan shows again how awesome he is.
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