What's Ellen's excuse? I hadn't heard she was back on.

Ellen never went off did she? Or she only went off for a day and then went back on the air but without any kind of monolouge so it's just talking to guests.

She went off for one day.

Daly always seemed like kind of a douche. But, if he's not a member of the WGA, he's not really doing anything wrong, I guess.

Well, Carson could get banned from the WGA, but considering how he makes his money (as a host/on-air personality) he may not care.

As for the rightness of it or not, I think that neither party, the host and the guest, can use scripted material. No skits, no jokes that was written by staff. no funny stories that the publicity team helped punch up for the actor flogging his movie, nada.

Which of course means how can you do an interview without planning out beforehand the questions...?

Amusingly, a local radio station has been doing Hollywood minutes. Since when actors gone on TV to flog their movies, they tend to tell the same stories, the local radio station has been editing radio interviews of various actors on the interview circuit together into short pithy funny little bits. They are calling it "Late Night Talk Shows, the good parts"

Daly always seemed like kind of a douche.

But he did invent karma.

Well, Carson could get banned from the WGA, but considering how he makes his money (as a host/on-air personality) he may not care.

Why? He's not a writer and he's not writing. Lots of people in the biz are working. Should reality contestants get banned if they decide to turn into writers? Should newscasters?

But he did invent karma.

har.

Why? He's not a writer and he's not writing. Lots of people in the biz are working. Should reality contestants get banned if they decide to turn into writers? Should newscasters?

As long as he's not writing, he's fine. Though I'm sure there will be another flurry of bitchslaps in the media over it. (See: Ellen.)

I don't think I understand the reality contestant example.

Newswriters are covered under a different WGA contract and the CBS newswriters have already voted to strike themselves. ABC newswriters could be next. How those strikes would work, I have no idea.

Finally, no one can actually be "banned" from the WGA. They can be prevented from being a "member," which means they pay ~1% less in dues, can't vote in elections or run for office. They can still work for signatory companies and get health and pension benefits.

Though I suspect they also run the risk of being tarred and feathered if their names ever got out.

I don't think I understand the reality contestant example.

I meant that it's not crossing a picket line to work during the strike, even if working means being on television. It's only crossing a line to perform struck work - writing. The reality contestant was a (bad) example of a person who, if the strike continues, would be helping to provide new content to air on the networks. If that person then wanted to be a member of the WGA as a writer, no problem.