The end of ER and NBC

Well ER just finished after 15 years. It was as good an ending as could be. Some of the veterans were there, a new generation of ER doctors ( Rachel Greene, Mark Greene's daughter) and at the end an explosion brings many new patients to the ER, and life and death go on.

But the end of ER may symbolize the end of NBC as a serious network. They have already announced that they (like Fox, My9 and WB11) are abandoning programing the 10:00 o'clock hour. Five nights of Jay Leno at 10PM is the equivalent of news.

But yesterday they announced the end of serious journalism at NBC by firing the best sportscaster in the business. After 25 years Len Berman and channel 4 are no more and NBC 4 news and I are no more. When the bottom line determines journalistic values that's the end of serious journalism.

Once-upon-a-time NBC was the hallmark of network TV - Hill St. Blues, Cheers, St. Elswhere, Family Ties, The Cosby Show, West Wing and now five nights of Jay Leno. No offense to Leno, but come on that's not prime time network TV, that's protecting your bottom line and the audience be damned.

Letterman's World Wide Pants signs with Writer's Guild

As you may already know as of Wednesdsay Jan. 2 the late-night talk shows that have been showing repeats will return with original shows. This includes Late Night with David Letterman, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Late Show with Conan O'Brien, plus several others. Only Letterman and Ferguson's shows are returning with union writers. The others are scab shows which any progressive person should boycott - most Sag members will not appear. Here are a couple of exerpts from a letter from the writers' Guild regarding the matter:

We are writing to let you know that have reached a contract with David Letterman's Worldwide Pants production company that puts his show and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson back on the air with Guild writers. This agreement is a positive step forward in our effort to reach an industry-wide contract. While we know that these deals put only a small number of writers back to work, three strategic imperatives have led us to conclude that this deal, and similar potential deals, are beneficial to our overall negotiating efforts.

Side-by-side with this agreement, and any others that we reach, are our ongoing strike strategies. In the case of late-night shows, our strike pressure will be intense and essential in directing political and SAG-member guests to Letterman and Ferguson rather than to struck talk shows. At this time, picket lines at venues such as NBC (both Burbank and Rockefeller Center), The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and the Golden Globes are essential. Outreach to advertisers and investors will intensify in the days ahead and writers will continue to develop new media content itself to advance our position.

Boycott Leno and O'Brien and their sponsors and guests

According to a Reuters' report Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien have announced that they will put on scab shows as of Jan. 2

Late-night TV comedians Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien said on Monday they will resume taping their shows on January 2, and cross picket lines if necessary, after nearly two months off the air in support of striking film and television writers.

With no end in sight to Hollywood's worst labor clash in 20 years, the hosts of NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" said they were returning for the sake of scores of co-workers idled by the strike.

It seems obvious to me that Leno is going back on the air because David Lettermen who owns his own show is negotiating a separate agreement with the writer's union. Leno knows that his show will tank if Letterman goes back on the air with original shows. Don't believe that nonsense about doing it for their non-writing staff. The worst part of this new development is that Leno and O'Brien are members of the writers' union. In other words, they will be scabbing against their own union. I think traitor is the right label for that kind of behavior.

Obviously everyone should communicate to NBC that they won't watch Leno and O'Brien's scab shows. But we should make it clear that we will boycott any one who sponsors these scab shows and also boycott the films and music of any stars who appear on the shows to promote their products. These seem to be the least we can do.