What can we do?
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Ok, so we, the staff of NoFactZone.net, are seriously bummed about the strike. No more new episodes for a while. No telling what’s going to happen, and the uncertainty is freaking me out. We feel very strongly about wanting to make sure the writer’s get their fair shake of things. We are quite aware of the work that they do and feel that their grievances are just. On the other hand, let’s face it, we want our “Colbert Report”. Dammit.
So, here’s our question. What can we, as the Colbert Nation, do? Surely those of us who are helping the bigwigs make the big bucks with our viewing habits and our dollars can do something to help end the strike sooner.
We read the suggestions left in the comments, but we still feel so helpless. We want a plan of action, something we can share and pass on to other people who want to make a difference. Please, if you are one of the many writers or staffers affected by the strike (in the industry, not specifically for the show), and if you know what we can do to help support the writers during the strike and to bring an end as soon as possible, put it in the comments. Or e-mail us. We want to help.
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34 Comments
November 2nd, 2007 at 11:34 pm
I’m so glad you posted this, because I was thinking that we (viewers in general) need to take some action. I think the basic things like writing some letters / emails to the CEO’s would certainly be worthwhile, and maybe contacting the advertisers. I’m not sure it’s worthwhile to boycott the reruns on tv, but it might be interesting to actually boycott the new media–like if there were a series of days when everyone who normally would watch clips online did not, and instead sent an email to Hynudai or AmEx explaining why, that might have an impact.
I suppose viewers in different cities could picket local affiliates, or viewers in NYC and LA could turn out the picket lines one day.
Another reason I’m glad you’re pondering this, is that I was starting to have weird feelings about posting about the strike at TwoP, which is now ultimately owned by NBC-Universal, or at the Colboards which is owned by Viacom.
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November 2nd, 2007 at 11:35 pm
Also, I was sort of waiting to buy my best of Colbert DVD in the store, but one thought would be to not buy it, and instead send Viacom a letter saying I’m not going to buy it until the strike is settled. And same for DVDs of other tv shows.
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November 2nd, 2007 at 11:48 pm
Tomorrow, I will write a, shall we say, “well worded” e-mail to Viacom and everyone else I can think that explains my feelings about the situation.
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November 3rd, 2007 at 12:02 am
I’m not sure a boycott on thedailyshow.com and Motherload would be a good idea. Isn’t one of the network’s issues that they don’t think online video can be profitable? So it seems like we *should* support the site, as much as possible – show them how much interest, and therefore ad revenue, there can be in a site like this, and that the cut the writers are asking for is more than reasonable. I mean, that was what I took away from Jon’s statement last night (“support us by watching us on the internet”) – if he really wanted people to send a message by staying away from the site, all he had to do was *not* mention it on the show.
… right? Or am I missing something?
ACTUALLY, what we *could* do, is leave a comment on absolutely every clip we watch at thedailyshow.com, something like “Wow, I really appreciate the writing that went into this segment! The bit where Jon said “—-”, that was particularly brilliant and inspired! By the way, where can I find the full writing credits for this episode?”
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November 3rd, 2007 at 12:50 am
So, should we should do something like an Operation: “Reverse Boycott” (or like Operation: Girlcott…some sort of play on words-I think Stephen would be disappointed if we didn’t) where we encourage fellow fans to watch and respond to as many of the videos as possible, also making note to ask the network give credit that is due to the writers? or something like that?
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November 3rd, 2007 at 1:52 am
We all know Stephen’s voice. We should volunteer to write the scripts for a while. Let the powers that be realize how deserving the actual writers are of whatever they want.
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November 3rd, 2007 at 2:46 am
Think some kind of petition could have any impact ? :/
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November 3rd, 2007 at 5:54 am
Okay, so maybe I’m just strooplid but I can’t seem to figure out how to add a comment let alone give a rating to any of the videos on thedailyshow.com. Can anyone help?
I really want to help the writers and if rating/commenting on the videos can contribute, I’ll happily do that.
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November 3rd, 2007 at 6:42 am
Start a facebook group?
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November 3rd, 2007 at 7:12 am
@ murry:
Don’t cross the picket line.
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November 3rd, 2007 at 8:23 am
@NFZ: I think your idea is very sound: solicit a discrete e-mail from the writers or their leadership, and ask THEM what they want us to do.
@stellar dust: I’m not sure (because I don’t own/watch TV–threw mine away after the invasion)–but I gather from bowlofpetunias’ previous post below that Jon was being ironic. It does seem that not watching the new media would make more sense than not watching TV, because (I assume) the hits on the CC websites are immediately verifiable, while TV viewership isn’t, except cyclically, via Nielsens.
I think organizing waves of viewer boycotts of the new media on specific dates might be effective; also showing up on the picket lines in the major cities; but we should solicit the writers’ suggestions.
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November 3rd, 2007 at 8:24 am
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone at nofactzone for keeping us so informed about the strike. This is the best place for comprehensive and concise information, thank you so much for all the work you’re putting into this!
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November 3rd, 2007 at 9:02 am
Increasing revenue is the only thing the media giants care about. Raising the writer’s residuals would go against the ongoing business trend of big business taking more and more power away from labor. So they will be very, very stubborn about this. IMO the only way to support the WGA is through some kind of boycott which would cost the companies the most money. Ultimately the advertisers are paying for viewers, if there are none, the revenue to the media comglomerates evaporates. But they have deep pockets. In the short term only the WGA rank and file will suffer monetary losses. It sucks.
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November 3rd, 2007 at 9:23 am
boycott sponsors YES, I AM LOOKING AT YOU DORITOS!!!, Deny Comedy Central traffic. Support the writers. They are not getting paid for our viewing clips. Comedy Central is. Viacom is. The stockholders are. Allison Silverman, Eric Drysdale, Peter Gwinn, et. al are not. Every time you view a MotherLode video. Viacom gets paid. The writers do not.
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November 3rd, 2007 at 10:22 am
A few links i will be including in my no doubt escallating aggravated emails to fatcats,[although not sure about the first one]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_social_responsibility
http://reclaimdemocracy.org/corporate_accountability/corporations_cannot_be_responsible.html
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November 3rd, 2007 at 10:27 am
I think it’s safe to say that the entire Colbert Nation is pissed off and ready to act. If they can get a million plus on facebook for a fake presidential campaign imagine the numbers of a group denied their favorite show by Viacom et al’s refusal to negotiate. There is power there ready to be wielded at advertisers and media giants. All they need a focused campaign.
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November 3rd, 2007 at 10:34 am
erg, s/b “all they need IS a focused campaign.”
@madmoll
“Every time you view a MotherLode video. Viacom gets paid. The writers do not.”
Hence the strike yes? Good point.
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November 3rd, 2007 at 10:53 am
I’ve been trying to see if there’s someone out there rallying all the TV fandoms. This is affecting us the most right now because we’re losing our shows right away, but most “normal” TV shows will only be getting 9-10 episodes, which is major suckage.
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November 3rd, 2007 at 12:45 pm
There’s been some suggestions on DailyKos for allowing people to contribute to the strike fund (the WGA is providing no-interest loans for members who need it).
If that happens, it’s an obvious and meaningful way to support the writers.
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November 3rd, 2007 at 1:40 pm
Whatever we do, it should probably be as unified and noticeable as possible, right? This is the Colbert Nation’s specialty, after all. Plus, I thought I’ve heard that the press is expected to be somewhat unfavorable towards the writers, so maybe it would be good if there is coverage on pro-writer activity from the fans. Ack, this is frustrating, I’m glad NFZ is here to help us through!
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November 3rd, 2007 at 2:24 pm
@All: I agree that a highly intense boycott by the Nation on specific dates (repeat as needed) is one good way to get attention. Organizing via one of the social networking sites sound good, too.
But question: could we combine this action with boycotting the advertisers in a one/two punch? One idea: it’s truly unfortunate that both the strike and the (apparent) end of Stephen’s campaign may undercut Stephen’s request to contribute to the S.C. schools. What if a boycott of new media was coordinated with a boycott of products advertised on CC? List items (Snickers bar, bag of Doritos, Axe spray, etc.) on Facebook (e.g.) with their price. People choose an amount equivalent to what they can afford. Send the money to Stephen’s charity, and link a letter to Viacom (e.g.) stating (a) you’ve stopped watching CC clips/TV and (b) you’ve stopped buying their advertisers products.
What do people think? I’d still most like to hear from the writers, though.
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November 3rd, 2007 at 3:59 pm
I don’t have any ideas that haven’t already been mentioned, but I did just learn that apparently it’s November sweeps time. Which I hadn’t thought of before, and really don’t know if it actually matters to the subject at hand, but still I found it interesting.
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November 3rd, 2007 at 4:01 pm
Oh, I forgot to ask:
I don’t suppose that anyone has any contact information for any of the writers so that we could contact them directly instead of waiting for them to come to the site? I would imagine that any email addresses on any of the show sites wouldn’t be of use at the moment, if there even were any. So that’s out I guess.
Wasn’t someone in contact with Mark Malkoff, the TCR audience coordinator? Would he be able to maybe pass information along or something?
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November 3rd, 2007 at 6:29 pm
I’m meeting Stephen at the Montclair book signing next Sunday. Is there anything you guys think I should try to ask him?
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November 3rd, 2007 at 7:21 pm
It’s not just Comedy Central writers I’m supporting here, is it? I must turn off the TV completely, right?
Not that I watch TV. But if I did, I’d have to wouldn’t I?
And I DO have to stop going to NBC’s website and watching Conan and The Office. If I want to support the strike I’ll have to cut myself off from all (four) of my favorite shows, right? And…I don’t know…read, maybe?
Go for a walk?
Write that novel I’ve been kicking around in my head. The one about the lovable but socially awkward geek girl, who manages to break out of her prison of self-imposed solitude and make friends and find love.
You know. Fiction.
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November 3rd, 2007 at 7:26 pm
xf, ask for his phone number. I understand he recently told a fan that in case of a strike he would read the news to her over the phone.
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November 3rd, 2007 at 8:27 pm
@ barenjager (and xfshipper),
Actually, that “fan” was me. You can read it in my report from his DC book signing. He can just email me via the contact info I have on the site, if he wants to get in touch and keep to his word. :)
In all seriousness, though, xfshipper, please do ask him whether he or anyone he knows could suggest ways for us to support the WGA members so that the AMPTP will be motivated to negotiate sooner, and in good faith. Perhaps you can get an answer about the question people have had as to whether watching online clips helps or hurts the writers while they’re striking, too.
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November 3rd, 2007 at 8:58 pm
lol
I’ve got a mind like steal trap!
Rusty.
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November 4th, 2007 at 6:20 am
@ murry says:
November 3rd, 2007 at 1:52 am
We all know Stephen’s voice. We should volunteer to write the scripts for a while. Let the powers that be realize how deserving the actual writers are of whatever they want.
not a good Idea. In fact, it would amount to ’strike breaking’ and not serve Stephen or the writers. The internet IS profitable. the prøn industry has proven that. amazon has proven that. if it wasn’t profitable, thedailyshow.com would not have happened.
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November 4th, 2007 at 11:48 am
Comedy Central attacked Youtube and google video on basis of them loosing money, even thought free content gave them free publicity… then they say that they cannot pay the writers on the bases of new media because they dont know if they make money… even thought they get paid by having videos played on their own web… is it me or i just dont care about their logic anymore?…
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November 4th, 2007 at 11:52 am
[...] No Fact Zone: “What Can We Do?” - my personal favorite for opinions, along with the first link. [...]
November 4th, 2007 at 11:08 pm
Here’s another smallish idea:
folks who had tickets to tapings of any of the live shows, could show up at the picket line instead. (Probably easiest for those who live in NYC, or were going to be there anyway.) At the simplest, just show up cheer for the writers for a bit, or make a sign that says “I had tickets for today’s Colbert Report, and I’m here to support the writers.” And as a plus, you might get to hang out with one of the TCR/TDS writers.
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November 5th, 2007 at 1:28 am
“Actually, that “fan” was me. You can read it in my report from his DC book signing. He can just email me via the contact info I have on the site, if he wants to get in touch and keep to his word. :)”
Can we get him to read to us? Tell us what to do. That would be cool if he keeps his “Word” for us as well.
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November 5th, 2007 at 1:51 am
I’m forming a physical Colbert Report fan club where Iive. If you are near Monroe Michigan and are interested in joining this group, contact me please vai my email address.
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