Interesting headline on this New York Post story, hmmmm? The petition isn’t to keep Jon off the air, but rather to keep Comedy Central from “forcing” The Daily Show and The Colbert Report to come back without its writers. From the NY Post:
PETITION TO KEEP STEWART OFF AIR
By MELISSA JANE KRONFELD
January 2, 2008 — LEAVE Jon Stewart alone!An online petition drive to stop Comedy Central from “forcing” Stewart and its companion show, “The Colbert Report,” back on the air without their writers is picking up steam.
Both political comedy shows – which have been in reruns since early November, when the Hollywood Writers Guild of America went on strike – are returning to the air with new shows next Monday. According to the petition, neither comedian wants to go back without their writers but are being forced to by the network. The petition campaign comes as other late-night talk shows, including Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Kimmel, go back on the air tonight, also without their writers.
Stewart’s Busboy Productions, which makes both “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report,” has continued to pay staffers’ salaries during the strike. The hosts say they respect the WGA, but still want to get back to work to avoid having to lay off their many staffers who are not writers.
In a joint statement, the comedy duo stated:
“We would like to return to work with our writers. If we cannot, we would like to express our ambivalence, but without our writers we are unable to express something as nuanced as ambivalence.”
Comedy Central, in a prepared statement, said it “continues to hold out hope for a swift resolution to the current stalemate that will enable the shows to be complete again.”
But it did not deny that it had pushed for Stewart and Colbert to get back on the air with new shows – and did not budge from its decision to push ahead.
For the record, I believe the petition referred to above is this one over at Firedoglake.
The petition cited says: ‘I want The Daily Show and The Colbert Report to return with the Emmy-winning writing staffs who have made these shows great. Please go back and negotiate with the WGA to give the writers a fair share.’
So the petition does NOT say ‘I have not watched CC since the strike began and I will continue to refuse to watch’, either until negotiations resume or a settlement is reached. It doesn’t follow that if one ‘wants’ TDS and TCR to return with their writers that one will refuse to watch the struck shows, because while a person could desire to watch the shows with writers, his or her desire to watch Stephen or Jon under any circumstances could be stronger and more motivating; a state of mind which (judging from the comments on this site) many fans (but not me) seem to be in.
I’m a bit skeptical about the efficacy of such a petition; but if they intended to express the stronger assertion above, they should consider a rewrite.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
LEAVE Jon Stewart alone!
Okay, I laughed.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
I am very curious how Stewart and Colbert are going to solve their problem. The other late nights can go to longer interviews, and some more audience interaction. It’s not ver good, but it will fill the show. Stewart and Colbert have nothing to show for. However, I doubt Comedy Central (or better Viacom) will allow them to comment much on the situation.
I will probably watch their first new shows, and then go instigate my own strike, to keep the pressure on Viacom.
I have to say that it’s not too bad: no tv watching. If my girl friends weren’t addicted to sports, I’d consider chucking my cable subscription.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
@ nousblet,
Well, a lot of people are trying to put together initiatives to end the strike, but the question of which approaches may be the most efficacious is, of course, the one we’d all like answered (aside from “What the heck is the AMPTP thinking?” that is).
I’d hate to try to psychoanalyze the petition’s author to get at his/her intent, but they’re usually pretty on the ball over there at FDL (their liveblogging of the Alberto Gonzales testimony was amazing), so taking them at face value is probably the safest option. Whether you agree with the petition’s stated position is another matter entirely, of course.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
Justing adding that the NY Post is(IMO) the Bill O’Reilly of NY Newspapers. A once venerable federalist rag (founded in 1801 by Alexander Hamilton)it is now a modern tabloid rag owned by right winger Rupert Murdoch. So like Fox news, I take everything they report with a grain of salt and dash of bias.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
I really wish Jon and Stephen would issue a more definitive statement on the situation, so I could know where they actually stand. This whole thing is twisting my mind in knots.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
@vigwig,
That may be true, but the fact that Comedy Central has yet to deny the statement that it had a hand in forcing Jon and Stephen to return to the air speaks volumes — I think had they not been one of the major factors in their return, they would’ve said so by now and issued their own press release in that regard. So, I’m on board with believing most of the pressure to return came from CC — but, that’s just my opinion.
Unfortunately, when I went to the online petition and sent my e-mails, I received a “delivery failure” notice in my Inbox.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
@ Lisa
I wasn’t questioning the truth of the situation at all, just describing the messenger (the NY Post) and their questionable motives. I think it’s clear they are being horribly pressured either by Viacom or CC to return. However, if pencil drops and phone calls won’t move the moguls I doubt a petition will do anything.
As far as their issuing statements go, I recall Stephen saying – “There is absolutely no reason why anyone should speak to the press if they can avoid it” – a paraphrase from an interview. Given how things get twisted and misconstrued, I think he’s following his own advice.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
I don’t worry about what Jon or Steven think. Who knows whether they can or will be in a position to share their thoughts on the air.
I have already canceled my cable – happy to save all that $$ and since my hdtv has a tuner, get all the basic cable channels i can for FREEE! Unfortunately, can’t get cc tuned…it’s definitely a subset of the basic cable roster, but it’s free HDTV and until the strike is settle the more people who do this the greater these online petition will resonate
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
@vigwig,
The statement-issuing I was referring to was the fact that Comedy Central hasn’t yet issued a statement denying the fact that they did pressure Jon and Stephen to return, which sort of implies (in my mind) that they [Comedy Central] are guilty as charged; I didn’t mean to imply that Jon or Stephen should’ve made a public statement by now. Considering the complexities of this situation, I see how it’s probably in their best interest that they don’t. But, good paraphrase. I see where you’re going as far as NY Post motives are concerned.
Sorry for all the confusion — maybe I should refrain from making statements too…seems to constantly get me in trouble.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
@ Lisa, no trouble, no worries!
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
Online petitions are cute, and they make people feel better. I say go for it. It is every bit as useful as picketing the shows that are going back on the air, and it takes far far less effort.
Even now, if you listen very closely, you can hear Viacom quake with fear at the prospect.
I don’t think Stewart and Colbert could say anything that would make their return to television seem like something other than what it is.
I suppose they might argue that their “show” of solidarity with the union can now be broadcast to a larger audience.
Any public statement they make will taste like betrayal, surrender, or hypocrisy. I’m not sure what other effects they might have by expressing anything more than “ambivalence.”
I’m not judging C and S. They have very few options, and their choices will affect hundreds of other people who seem to have nothing to gain if the writer’s strike is effective. And anyway, they aren’t the ones who created the situation. They didn’t start it.
But I do pretty much fully reject the implication that anyone in this free country can be forced to go back to work. I understand that some people have more to lose (that is to say they have MORE) than others.
And, of course, some people must make a choice between going to work or living without running water or electricity or a roof over their heads, but this strike has absolutely nothing to do with those sorts of people.
No one is forced to work, here, though. We don’t do that in America. We outsource that sort of thing.
It’s pretty important that we reject the kind of rhetoric that portrays the workers as powerless and the companies as nearly supernatural entities that control our fates. Stewart and Colbert are not forced to go back on air. They have chosen to do so.
They may have good reason.
I don’t know why I’m still so interested in any of this stike stuff. It all seems pretty silly now.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
@ everybody who thinks S&C should refuse to come back:
S&C are in a catch 2222 situation.
* As (head) writers, they are striking.
* As hosts/actors, they are not.
* As employers, they are looking at a large number of employees (the non-writers) that are hurt bad by the strike.
* As employees, they are faced with a boss (Comedy Central) that has always been very good to them. However, Comedy Central is being bullied by its boss Viacom.
It’s impossible to be loyal to all parties involved. And it will get worse when the SGA goes on strike to (in a couple of months) and they are forced to completely stop working.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
Pretty much what barenjager said.
I really don’t think people should expect them to come out on their shows with guns blazing against the AMPTP, since their ultimate employer is a hard line member of that group.
And I wouldn’t wait for any explanations either—except perhaps for the quite popular, because rather noble-sounding, ‘we’re doing it for the below the liners’.
(That’s always the implied accusation against strikers: by making waves and not putting up with unfair treatment -you’re- inflicting hardship on innocent bystanders, so –you- should just sit down, and be quiet, and take what we give you. It’s the subtext in a lot of abusive situations; it’s the -protest- that really causes the problems.)
Stewart and Colbert are just entertainers, who happen to have struck a chord with audiences by making jokes that -seemed- to exhibit a particular world view that many found sympatico.
They kept saying that they were just trying to be funny, rather than make any kind of real political statement. But people kept attributing to them (and admired them for having) a socially progressive sensibility that they may not actually have.
Hmmm…..
Dave should keep the bear and let it grow until the strike ends, then shave it off on camera.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
Well, if he has one, Dave could keep the bear, or not…but he -should- let his beard grow…geeze…it’s late.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
BEARS are “dead to me” LOL-I miss them both!
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
@Nepkarel: It’s an AFTRA contract, , and, we have that contract through 2009 for Comedy Central. It’s the Primetime (Network) Contract that is up in June. But, yes, both are in a damned if they do/if they don’t.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0