# Why does the Writers Strike stop Talk Shows? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 10, 2007, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940 "2007-11-10T18:10:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Surbey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Surbey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surbey)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/21 "2007-11-11T16:10:00Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Manatees, actually. [/QUOTE] Family Guy is SO burned now! lol ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/22 "2007-11-11T16:15:00Z")
Regarding animated shows: only the four Fox shows are WGA, according to the Animation Guild (IATSE Local 839). All other animated shows are non-WGA. The president of the WGA, Patric Verrone, is a former writer for The Simpsons and Futurama. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/23 "2007-11-11T22:23:21Z")
[QUOTE=Lute Skywatcher] Some talk shows are owned by their hosts instead of a network, enabling them to strike their own deal with writers. Letterman is one and so was Johnny. [/QUOTE] [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content\_display/news/e3i5eca1b5094193b5573761e79e7188e9c](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i5eca1b5094193b5573761e79e7188e9c) > [@](#): > > A spokesperson for the show’s producer, Telepictures Prods., said there’s a difference between “Ellen” and late-night talk shows such as “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” and “Late Show With David Letterman,” arguing that the former is syndicated and carried by local TV stations and the latter are owned and controlled by networks. Can you provide any evidence that this is wrong and that Carson and/or Letterman owned their shows? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/24 "2007-11-11T22:57:59Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] Can you provide any evidence that this is wrong and that Carson and/or Letterman owned their shows? [/QUOTE] Tonight Show writer Jon Macks, [confirmed by TV critic Aaron Barnhart](http://paulharrisonline.blogspot.com/2007/11/aaron-barnhart-on-writers-strike.html) (8:30-9:20 marks). NBC does currently own The Tonight Show. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2007, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/25 "2007-11-12T01:26:20Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content\_display/news/e3i5eca1b5094193b5573761e79e7188e9c](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i5eca1b5094193b5573761e79e7188e9c) Can you provide any evidence that this is wrong and that Carson and/or Letterman owned their shows? [/QUOTE] Letterman owns [Worldwide Pants](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worldwide_pants), the production company that makes (and therefore owns) _The Late Show_ and _The Late Late Show_ with Craig Ferguson, as well as other shows. Letterman didn’t own _Late Night_ at NBC. [Carson Productions](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055708/companycredits) was the production company for _The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson_. ISTR reading in _The Late Shift_ that Letterman followed Carson’s lead by forming his own production company once he went to CBS, so he could own his show and not merely be a network employee. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2007, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/26 "2007-11-12T03:46:24Z")
So Carson did and Letterman didn’t. That doesn’t seem to have been the point that mattered. _King of the Night_, by Laurence Leamer > [@](#): > > For several days and nights [after the start of the 1988 writers’ strike] Johnny and _The Tonight Show_ staff discussed the pros and cons. Johnny was in a bad mood. The ratings of the reruns were touching bottom. His production company was paying the salaries of idle _Tonight Show_ employees, a generous gesture but one that could not go on much longer. Even so, Johnny had not written most of his own television material since _Carson’s Cellar_ four decades ago. He might get by for a night or two with jokes that he had squirreled away, but what if the strike lasted? > > Hookstratten tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a separate contract with the Writers Guild. On May 3, Johnny announced that, writers or no writers, he was going back to work. “There are numerous _Tonight Show_ staff members, many have been with us for over 20 years, who are in danger of losing their jobs if this strike goes on much longer,” Johnny said. "I can’t let that happen. I also can’t turn my back on the _Tonight Show_ audience, who have remained loyal these 25 years. It’s time to get back to work. > > Johnny admitted later that he was having problems with Alex at home. He had become so irritable that he snapped back even when she asked if he wanted a cup of coffee. “I really believe one more week off and my marriage would have been resolved by small-arms fire.” Of course, I can’t guarantee the accuracy of any of this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940.md?page=1)