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2nd UPDATE: Even tonight's Variety coverage of the joint WGA-AMPTP announcement that settlement talks would resume right after Thanksgiving was worded in such a way as to imply that the WGA has been refusing to go back to the bargaining table, instead of the other way around: "Striking writers have agreed to resume negotiations with studios and networks on Nov. 26." Shortly after I posted this here, Variety changed its headline and lede to reflect a more neutral position. More examples here.
UPDATE: I've just been informed that Variety (actually Frank N. Magid Associates for the trade) is conducting a survey to better understand how readers feel about the WGA strike and "the questions seem quite biased against the WGA". Also a striking writer emails me from the NBC picket line today that Variety had boxes filled with today's issues delivered to the big protest where John Edwards appeared. "Their plans may have gone a little awry. I saw stacks of Variety being tossed on the sidewalks, thrown into trash cans, torn up and stepped on by the picketers who, to a person (within my earshot at least) dissed the magazine and its skewed coverage. Variety seems to have forgotten that writers can read, too."
Previous: When the strike is over, and one day far into the future that will be true, media critics may have a field day dissecting the slanted coverage and total fabrications which Variety is reporting in these early days of the strike. 
But for now, I'll do it. How much longer is this going to be allowed to continue by parent company Reed Business? The trade's Jason Blairs -- oh, excuse me, Josef Adalian and Dave McNary -- keep inventing stories which purport to show that less than 2 weeks into the strike wither the WGA's resolve is withering, and/or its writers are going back to work, and/or even its late show iconic hosts are going to double-cross their teams of scribes. Just one problem: those stories are either totally fabricated or highly exaggerated, made worse by headlines which are not borne out by the content of the articles. The latest is Variety's bullshit article today that the late night hosts may be going back to work after Thanksgiving while their teams of writers walk the picket lines. I guarantee you this is not the case and no plans are underway. My info is that NBC is putting heat on Conan O'Brien to come back earlier than anyone but he's resisting. I hear no one is telling Dave or Jay or Craig what to do, and they're not even thinking about it. And I know that Jon Stewart is saying privately that he won't even consider coming back until 2008 at the earliest. At the same time, the AMPTP keeps taking out expensive full-page ads in Variety to state its case -- as if the trade's editorial pages aren't doing a ridiculously good job of that already. I, for one, am perplexed but also sad to see the day-by-day destruction of Variety's credibility and trust (well, as much as a trade which has always been in the pocket of the Industry can engender...)
First, there was McNary's article wrongly claiming the WGA was backing off its position on changing on Reality TV. (See my previous, WGAW Says Variety Scoop Has No Reality). Then, there was Adalian's and McNary's fabricated story about The Young And The Restless soap opera writers returning to work by opting for "financial core" status with the WGA. "Several WGA scribes on sudsers have decided to cross the picket line to keep their jobs," the article starts out. The piece quotes unnamed sources as saying that three Y&R scribes are doing it and a fourth is considering it, along with a Days Of Our Lives writer. Then the article fear-mongers by going into background about how the soaps are in trouble ratings-wise and may be yanked from schedules altogether: "A long stretch of pre-emptions or repeats could prove fatal." (In fact, the soaps have a history of hiring scab writers to fill in during writer strikes, which in turn has prompted viewers in the past to complain about the decline in quality and stop watching until things returns to normal. The Variety piece also buried a vital nugget of information: that soap showrunner Bradley Bell, whose family owns Y&R and The Bold And The Beautiful, was himself walking the picket line outside CBS Television City on the first day of the walkout. Or that Y&R showrunner Lynn Marie Latham had packed up and stopped all work
The Variety soap misinformation elicited a strong reaction: the next day, Y&R writers forwarded to me a statement signed by the entire writing staff of 18:
"As the writing staff of The Young and The Restless gathered together to share pizza -- something we have vowed to do weekly until the strike ends -- we were incensed to read the incorrect information printed in Variety, that several writers on our show sought financial core status. Our entire writing staff of 18 is united, and we fully support our union. Not a single person who was writing for Y&R when we struck has gone core. Not one. We stand united with sore feet from picketing. Well, some of us sit. But we all do our part, and we cannot be parted.
"The Y&R writers have been asked how long the strike will last. We know it will last as long as it takes to get a fair contract. We've also been asked if Jack Abbott will prove Victor Newman is a killer. We could answer that one, but we're not going to -- because we are not writing."
WGA sources said the Variety story was rubbish and it should have made clear it was referring to only one "nonwriting [Y&R] producer who has WGA membership from previous work" who has "chosen to go fi-core and become, effectively, a scab."
Still more Variety fear-mongering was its trumped-up take that American producers had "plans" to fly in British writers now. But the article had no reporting to back its claim, quoted not one UK scribe, and neglected to mention the Writers Guild of Great Britain’s solidarity with the WGA.
And then comes Adalian's story today that the late night hosts may be going back to work after Thanksgiving while their teams of writers walk the picket lines. My own info on this is that the situation is way more fluid and less focused that Adalian's article pretends. But what's really interesting is how this info suddenly jumps to Variety's Page One instead of my scoop that David Letterman is going to pay his Worldwide Pants staff at the Late Show and Late Late Show through the end of the year despite the strike. That, obviously, didn't fit into Variety's consistently pro-studio/network agenda.
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Again, the little trade that could, Below the Line, has been blogging and covering this story from direct sources within the WGA and IATSE – and also from Nikki Finke herself who has been the hub of all strike related news for everyone.
It’s amazing how quickly Variety went transparently shill. As somebody who’s had a subscription for many years and read it daily, i must say I’m shocked and sickened. I feel dirty reading it. And it’s not just me, in fact almost everyone who I’ve been on the picket lines with, every day, no exaggeration, is being very vocal about their plans to cancel their variety subs. Everyone is in shock over it. Oh wait, no, I forgot, we’re just in a paranoid bubble… yeah right!
Have you been to the Variety Screening Series? The moderators are staff members who ask the most assinine questions (with the exception of Anne Thompson) and often repeat questions that’ve already been answered. They’re the most idiotic, nit-witted bunch of buffoons I’ve ever encountered. I quit going because it was too painful. They’re not journalists. They’re shills. And they’re not even good at that!
Also, add in Variety’s trumped up “British writers will be flown in to write” pot-stirring — a story that quoted not one British writer and neglected to mention the Writers Guild of Great Britain’s solidarity with the WGA, and all British writers’ solidarity with their US colleagues. But then, including that info wouldn’t have made for such a scaremongering story, would it?
Variety is a little turd. The trade has been a source of misinformation for some time now. It’s no surprise to me or anyone else that I communicate with on a daily basis that they are reporting fabricated stories. Keep up the great work Nikki.
Dave McNary is an anti-union pussy.
So Nikki, like your fans, you think that everyone who disagrees with your pro-WGA stance is in the disinformation business? Every post you make you get thanked and congratulated for your balanced coverage, but only by those who think the WGA will somehow ‘win’. I appreciate your hard work, but I’m not sure your preconceptions will turn out the way you hope.
Good post — but it’s not just that Variety is pro-studio, it’s that editor Peter Bart is an anti-union reactionary conservative. That’s where this all comes from.
Variety’s coverage of the strike and the events leading up to it have been shamefully biased. Dave McNary is the entertainment industry’s equivalent of a journalist in the former Soviet Union — although in least in their case the headlines matched the fabricated stories.
Nikki, I don’t know how to express my gratitude for you shedding light on this.
I don’t think Variety is under the sway of a corporate master, but their lazy and sensational reporting has got to be called out.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Hopefully this will be the death of Variety and Hollywood Reporter and more people will get their info from blogs like this one. Kudos Nikki for reporting facts. Something not too many journalists are into these days.
Once again, Nikki, you have hit the nail on the head.
When I read today’s “Variety” article stating that the late night shows may return, it sounded all wrong. I posted a brief and calm comment on the article questioning the veracity of the information. Variety chose not to include my post in their comment section, but instead chose to include a bunch of anti-WGA rants. It’s a sad descent for “Variety.”
And thanks, Nikki, for all you are doing.
you are so correct nikki about variety trumping up that story today re: late shows going back on air
we put a comment about it on variety’s website but they didn’t publish it .. surprise, surprise
I too have been screaming about Variety’s coverage for weeks! I even wrote a letter to them pointing out how one sided and misinformed their “reporting” has been. There have even been times when McNary has reported on issues he clearly doesn’t understand like the time he referred residuals and P&W as if they were the same thing. I’ve heard from people who work inside Variety that they too are actually embarrassed by it. However, someone at the top obviously is not.
Thanks for such great coverage, Nikki!
Variety has lost its reputation as a serious trade journal and is now just a mouthpiece for The Big Six. The unrelenting bias of the stories on the strike make me wonder what other lies they’ve passed off in the past that the whole town has swallowed. Can we trust anything they report?
Box office grosses? Not me. Not anymore.
Shame on Variety. And at a time when the publication could really be shining in its coverage of the most important story in its own company town. Thus far, I can recall one balanced article earlier this week.
So, today I cancelled my subscription. And Tuesday, I cancelled the LA Times (following its embarrassingly inadequate representation of last weeks Fox rally).
With one paper publication after another, one network after the next becoming little more than the thinly veiled mouthpieces of their owners and advertisers, I guess the future of balanced journalism lies with reading as much as possible online. Oh well. Less paper to recycle.
will someone explain what “fi-core” means? thnx…
I have been a subscriber to Daily Variety since 1980. I am canceling my subscription first thing Monday before I head out to the picket lines. I urge all fellow WGA members to do the same. I will get my strike news from DHD and other blogs.
Who exactly bought the back page ad today, by the way? I don’t recall seeing the sponsors named.
Hi,
My friend heard this story about late night going back on the news this morning. So of course she told it to me as fact. She’s a family law attorney, not even in the business!
Don’t know if you saw this– Global scribes stand with WGA
Leaders of writers’ guilds from around the world, representing something like 21,000 screenwriters, have united in the defence of America’s striking creatives.
“Their fight is our fight,” was the resounding call of unity from the International Affiliation of Writers’ Guilds (IAWG), confirming an “international day of solidarity” that will see writers demonstrate in the UK, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico and France on November 28.
The action was decided upon during a recent IAWG meeting in Montreal.
Rebecca Schechter, president of the Writers’ Guild of Canada, said: “Screenwriters around the world are entitled to receive their fair share of revenues from the internet, and that is what our American colleagues are fighting for. Their fight is our fight.”
Her sentiments were echoed by Katharine Way, chair of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, who proclaimed the future of the industry is shifting toward new media. “Writers have always had to fight for a small share of the revenues generated from their work, and this case is no different,” she said.
In Ireland, Audrey O’Reilly, who chairs the Irish Playwrights’ and Screenwriters’ Guild, said the IAWG’s solidarity means that “no self-respecting screenwriter in any country will undermine the US strike.”
She added: “The overwhelming majority of our members will never take work from striking American colleagues, because the fight now taking place in the US is a fight for screenwriters across the globe.”
The show of defiance against what the group called “multi-national media conglomerates” comes on the day that the dreaded term force majeure (larger force) is being bandied about Hollywood.
Universal Media Studios has notified actors on NBC series Bionic Woman and The Office that they are being suspended under the force majeure clause in their Screen Actors’ Guild contracts, forcing them into temporary unemployment.
Tim Pyre, president of the Australian Writers’ Guild, said that the IAWG urges these “international corporate giants to share just a few more drops from their buckets of money with the creators,” adding that without their involvement the TV shows, movies, webisodes and downloads would not exist.
“The networks and studios must return to the negotiating table without delay,” he said.
Ain’t having other sources for information other than the “established” news and trades outlets grand?
If nothing else, it opens the door to other lines of communication and thought processes.
pb
I also received the survey via email today at around 4:00 pm, and yes, they are clearly running scared. The tone was definitely anti-WGA, anti-strike skewed, and several questions reflected a transparent paranoia with where people are getting their “unbiased” news (e.g. DHD, instead of Variety or HR) during the strike.
I don’t subscribe anymore, but I too am so disgusted that I have “unsubscribed” my email address from the news updates spewed
out from their free online site.
Keep up the great work, Nikki
Got my Variety renewal today. Happily we’ve ankled the rag – with a nasty note for fun. Nikki Finke is our new source.
Writer
Ain’t having other sources for information other than the “established” news and trades outlets grand?
That’s the thing that fascinates me most. It can’t be for the purpose of demoralizing the WGA. There are too many alternative means for literate people to communicate and verify assertions like these.
So is it to get their message out to the larger media outlets? If so, why do it by this method? What is it accomplishing?
The Trades, at best, are soft PR driven magazines for a very narrow market. Their market has just shrunk at bit more… oddly enough, so have many major newspapers. Why? Because there is a growing hunger for more information and many people really do want to try to reach an intelligent opinion without being told “the facts” by agencies that have eroded their trust, time and time again.
Full page ads in the Trades often tend to be vanity pieces at best. Bought by a studio to placate a producer, bought by an agent to satisfy a client. Sure, there are other reasons, but is the public swayed by these ads? Do they even see them?
So keep an eye on the Trades. It’s another “source” to add to the mix, but do so with a grain of salt at hand and an open mind.
And if you get enough salt… fire up that Mr. Margarita machine. It’ll make the Trades almost funny. Almost.
pb
Brian Lowry’s articles have taken studios’ sides for years. Just go to the LA Times and search “Aniston and salary,” and you can read how he dreamed of coaching execs on how to cut a deal with the actors of “FRIENDS,” writing:
“‘Most shows fail, and the television business — with the audience splintering thanks to all the channels out there — must establish some controls over what we pay people in success.’” (LA Times, 5/23/00)
Just a week earlier, he framed the story of the contract dispute entirely from the networks’ side, opening with:
“After a tense week of negotiations that no doubt had NBC wondering with ‘Friends’ like these who needs enemies …” (LA Times, 5/15/00)
And two years later, as the wildly successful actors of “Friends” used their marketplace power to negotiate better pay yet again, it drove Lowry to write of:
” … a simple (if confounding) dilemma — namely, how television can afford to produce shows for which there is a public demand but no clear financial model to support them.”
You recognize the language. It’s the language of an exec.
Lowry’s smart enough to rationalize to himself that he’s giving us “the truth,” as he wrote this week in a highly defensive piece — but he’s television’s Judith Miller, so deeply embedded with his administration sources that he cannot see how blindly they have taken everyone to war.
I’m not a subscriber to Variety but, if I were, I’d cancel my subscription. I hope everyone else who reads Nikki and these blogs does the same. It all comes down to the internet no matter how you look at it. We don’t need this studio-slanted rag any more than we’ll need networks in the not too distant future – you can get it all on the web and have a direct relationship with your content provider. Let’s cut out the middleman!
The Trades can be damn handy.
How many times have you been cooling your heels in some suit’s office, when offered a refreshment only to find there are NO coasters on the rare rain forest wood coffee table.
What is one to do?
Reach for a Trade.
pb
Some of you guys are hilarious. “Variety is biased towards studios!!!”
1)pretty much every media outlet is biased. This very blog is HEAVILY biased towards the WGA. That’s fine.
2) how is it a shock that a paper that gets MILLIONS upon MILLIONS in advertising from studios/producers for advertising every year might skew towards their side?
3) I admire your conviction Nikki, but this post is kind of the pot calling the kettle black. Virtually every source you’ve cited since the strike began has been a WGA source.
Let’s stop feigning outrage at media bias. It’s real everywhere you just have to have your own filter.
It’s funny listening to all of you guys complaining about Variety when this site is so pro-WGA and anti-AMPTP. Just for a change I would some straight down the middle reporting from somewhere . Is that too much to ask?
To answer nebie’s question:
“Fi-core” is short for “financial core,” the federally-protected right of any union member to resign from (any) union but continue to pay union dues. The resigned member is then on “financial core” status, which means that he/she may work for whom he/she chooses (including non-signatories and during strikes) and may not be disciplined or prevented from working by the union.
The ex-member has no voting rights in the union, can’t attend meetings or otherwise participate in union activities, and essentially pays dues only for the union’s administrative and collective bargaining activities, not the “political” activities.
The ex-member has all of the benefits of any collective bargaining agreement (in the Guild’s case, the MBA), including P&W, etc. but is technically not a member of the union any longer.
This is legal thing but highly ethically suspect, since it amounts to betraying the union in its organizing (or here, strike) activities.
Unless there’s a strike, it’s hard to find out who has chosen fi-core status — certainly in this town there are very few fi-core ex-members of the Guild even with the anonymity. Professional writers appreciate and depend on the Guild, imperfect as it is.
But during a strike, people who go fi-core are the only ones working and are no different than scabs, so it’s very visible and will be very tough on them within the creative community….
BTW, I’ve been at the center of this business for a long time and have never seen a guild action with such united membership. I think it’s unique in the last 30 years.
NIKKI…I don’t understand the surprise at the perceived (and likely) slant in Studio Biased coverage in Variety. The people who read Variety are people who WORK in the industry…ER…People who WERE working or may NOT be working in the near future. Most of the readership of Variety has no positive financial stake in the WGA strike. It’s not realistic to expect an “industry rag” to be balanced in coverage of the writers who’s strike is shutting down their “industry”.
Still…the Writers deserve a reasonable cut of DVD and New Media and the Studios need to do the right thing.
I suggest all writers cancel their subscriptions to Variety (and THR). Their coverage has been unconscionably biased to the extreme. Almost to the point of satire.
Here’s a suggestion: Get your “news” from their websites on the internet — yes, that crazy newfangled uncharted territory that the studios use profits from our “promotions” to pay for their ads in the trades. Just like our work that the studios post on line….it’s free! You can read the front page and nearly all of the relevant stories, daily, for free.
COME ON WRITERS! CANCEL YOUR VARIETY SUBSCRIPTION MONDAY MORNING. Let’s send a message about whose side we’re on. Cause they’ve been sending one loud and clear about whose side they’re on!
Hey, don’t shoot the messenger. The late-night shows are coming back. Can’t you handle the truth?
On behalf of hundreds of unrepresented workers, sod off.
“Variety” is W.W. Beauchamp from “Unforgiven.” ‘Nuff said.
Apollo,
So what’s the negative in going fi-core?
According to you, the only negative seems to be that other writers won’t like you. Yeah well writers tend not to like each other. Mostly because there are so few writing gigs, everyone rewriting each other, and someone’s always getting paid more than you for even worse scripts.
It’s not like the writers are the ones that buy the scripts so I think a writer would only care about what a producer thinks of them. Not one of their fellow writers who would bust their knee caps and kicks them in the balls if it meant a two-week rewriting gig.
Sherilyn,
Writers do hire writers. In feature writing, producers by scripts. On television series, the showrunners are writers and they hire the writing staff. Television writers work with each other and network with each other. Usually fi-core writers are television writers. And in television it’s not about buying a script. It’s about hiring a writer to write future scripts. So, being a scab television writer won’t get you far.
“2) how is it a shock that a paper that gets MILLIONS upon MILLIONS in advertising from studios/producers for advertising every year might skew towards their side?”
Variety is a news publication. Most people expect a news organization to actually tell the truth–report the news, report both sides of an argument, and if something doesn’t add up for one of the sides, for the news organization to dig deeper and research.
For a normal news publication/program (e.g. anything other than Fox News) it is expected that there will be a solid brick wall between the advertising and news departments. If not, why publish at all? In your world, Dreamworks could take out an ad saying “Shrek 3 made more money than any other movie,” and Variety could then print this as if it was fact, ignoring “Titanic.”
I don’t think people are shocked, just disappointed. Variety used to be a reputable news organization.
Oh, and Manny–can you quote something that Nikki’s said that’s blatantly untrue or skewed? You’ve claimed she’s “biased,” but it appears she’s just telling the truth.
Troll.