More About Layoffs At CBS/Paramount TV

COMMENTS (13)

• Huh. I thought CBS was actually doing well these days.

  Way to reward the people who keep you at #1.

  Merry Christmas!

  Comment by Michelle T — Tuesday December 16, 2008 @ 5:13pm PST  Reply to this post

• When is Stapf going to be laid off?

  Comment by writer — Tuesday December 16, 2008 @ 5:36pm PST  Reply to this post

• Good for David Stapf. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of him putting his head on the chopping block to save jobs. And surely he realizes that once a position is eliminated, it disappears forever. Some VP will get bumped into Brian’s spot, and some SVP will get bumped in Crenna’s spot, and VP and SVP spots will be left empty forever, meaning a lot more work for the survivors in those departments. (I’ve been through this – the next worse thing to getting laid off is getting assigned the duties of the person who got laid off — double the work for the same money.)

  I know many of the people at CBS both at the network and the studio, and they are a pretty smart group. Not unpleasant to deal with at all. Generally very honest, and loathe to waste your time. But I’ll add this: none of them seem particularly passionate about television. They truly don’t care about things like winning Emmys or getting good reviews. The only thing they care about is what Les thinks and the ratings (which are generally related). If I had a dime for everytime a CBS exec said, “Well, I don’t think Les would agree,” or “Les doesn’t like that actor,” or “Les isn’t a fan of the genre,” I would have, well, at least $50 by now. Except of course people at CBS quit calling Les “Les” a couple of years ago. Now he’s Leslie.

  Comment by none longer in the biz — Tuesday December 16, 2008 @ 6:12pm PST  Reply to this post

• CBS had “only” 9 of the top 10 shows in the ratings last week.
  Those people “deserve” to be fired.

  Who is running CBS, Joseph Stalin?
  He killed off his best generals too.

  Comment by ReelBusy — Tuesday December 16, 2008 @ 7:52pm PST  Reply to this post

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  Yes but how many of those shows were developed by the executives at CBS Paramount who were fired? They’re all lovely people and my heart goes out to them because nobody deserves this at Christmas time, but they were ineffective at best as a development team.

  Comment by ComeOnPeople — Tuesday December 16, 2008 @ 8:16pm PST  Reply to this post

• Stapf was a prodigy of Barbara Brogliatti and worked for Les at Warner Bros. Amazing how he managed to stay such a nice guy after working under Barbara for all those years. Maybe his mother-in-law, actor Bonnie Frnaklin helped set good values in him. Someday he will replace Moonves!!

  Comment by Chandler — Tuesday December 16, 2008 @ 11:29pm PST  Reply to this post

• Funny, although unrelated, comment by No Longer In the Biz.
  YES! Les HAS become Leslie over the past 5 years! It’s always irked me to a much greater extent than something so trivial should. Why would you insist on being referred to as Leslie? Les isn’t so great, but it’s a hell of a lot better than Leslie. That name is something to overcome, not to embrace. Like a mole you insist on calling a beauty mark instead of removing. No offense to any other male Leslies out there…

  Also, very true how everything has to follow Les(lie)’s vision. And everyone is open about it. The people that he’s laying off have done well following his orders, (some in a much more palatable and less sycophantic fashion than others). So in as sense, isn’t he firing himself?

  Comment by Mostly to "no(ne) longer" — Wednesday December 17, 2008 @ 12:29am PST  Reply to this post

• Bonnie Franklin is not David’s mother-in-law – she is his aunt-in-law.

  Comment by One Day-er — Wednesday December 17, 2008 @ 7:34am PST  Reply to this post

• David Stapf is the only man in Hollywood.

  Comment by Karen — Wednesday December 17, 2008 @ 8:07am PST  Reply to this post

• David runs the creative production not the network, so all the CBS shows are not his. Since he took over the Creative Development only BH 90210 has lasted more then one season. All the other shows are from the old Paramount Network TV group (all fired by Les). Once the current shows get tired and David has created none to take their place he will be canned.

  Comment by Dog — Wednesday December 17, 2008 @ 1:50pm PST  Reply to this post

• I’m surprised these people have lasted this long. David’s job is to just do whatever Leslie and Nancy tell him. No way could he talk Leslie out of firing anyone.

  Comment by Anonymous — Wednesday December 17, 2008 @ 8:14pm PST  Reply to this post

• Response to “Mostly to no(one) longer” regarding “Why would you insist on being called Leslie?”:

  Ummm … Maybe because that’s his name? A name that means “Joy”. And a name I am proud my parents gave me as well. They also taught me respect for others. Too bad your parents did not do the same. “No offense.”

  Comment by WawaLisa — Thursday December 18, 2008 @ 12:01am PST  Reply to this post

• Dear wawalisa,
  I do indeed Apologize. Although i don’t understand why you now choose “WawaLisa” now instead of Leslie. Leslie is much more dignified and you are proud of it. Perhaps WawaLisa is your confirmation name…

  Comment by GL — Saturday December 20, 2008 @ 1:15pm PST  Reply to this post