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Jon Stewart To Pay His Writers Out Of Own Pocket During WGA Strike

huffingtonpost.com — In a show of solidarity with his fellow scribes, the Daily Show host has told his writing staff that he will cover all their salaries for the next two weeks, according to a well-placed source. He has also vowed to do the same for writers on The Colbert Report.

Who dugg this? Made popular Nov 5, 2007

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  • iching, on 11/12/2007, -16/+424Meanwhile, both Stewart and Stephen Colbert are reportedly working on their contingency plans in case it doesn't. "There are indications that Mr. Stewart and Mr. Colbert will come back in tweaked form if the strike is a long one, leaning on interviews and other writer-free approaches to keep both programs alive in a very busy political season," reports today's Times.

    It should come as no surprise that Stewart is a union die-hard: He tells the current issue of Rolling Stone that his childhood heroes included socialist leaders Eugene V. Debs and Norman Thomas.
  • Bukowsky, on 11/08/2007, -10/+383that's pretty cool of him... especially taking care of the writers from the Colbert Report too.
  • coit, on 11/10/2007, -40/+381oops. digg me up please.
  • shaun1018, on 11/12/2007, -27/+281Stewart Colbert 08
  • dkm201, on 11/07/2007, -5/+181Er... it WILL affect the Daily Show -- they're on strike? There will be no new episodes. Stewart is paying the writers because he doesn't want them to go broke while they're on strike. He's not paying them to scab...
  • analogking, on 11/10/2007, -3/+170This isn't difficult to understand.

    The writers went home
    Stuart mailed them a check
    The writers stayed home

    He isn't trying to get them to write. He is putting food on their table. There is no hidden agenda. He is doing the right thing. He is supporting the strike.
  • iheartjebus, on 11/08/2007, -6/+147and again, Jon Stewart shows that he is the biggest man in show biz.
  • AwakeningAZ, on 11/08/2007, -1/+133I think a lot of you people don't realize that the writers will still be on strike, they'll just be compensated whlie on strike out of generosity. They're not going to write for the show, which will be entering reruns.
  • Sithseth, on 11/09/2007, -0/+127"UPDATE, 1:50 P.M.: Confusion: Jon Stewart's rep just called back to deny the information above. I checked back with my source, who set me straight on a few details: Stewart is not paying writers out of his own pocket, but through Busboy, his production company. And it's not just writers who are getting their salaries covered but everyone.

    But when I ran this by Stewart's rep, he emailed back, 'While I hesitate to knock down every rumor that comes up, the assertion that Jon and/or Busboy Productions will be paying for the staff is false and we have no further comment beyond this at this time.'" - http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/mixed-media/2 ...
  • MalDON, on 11/08/2007, -9/+125Well, since you asked so politely, why not?
  • Nougat, on 11/10/2007, -40/+129RON PAUL WILL GHOSTWRITE ALL TELEVISION SHOWS FOR THE DURATION OF ANY WRITER'S STRIKE!!!
  • jgc7, on 11/06/2007, -2/+85The strike *will* affect the Daily Show. Jon Stewart is just promising to pay them while they are on strike and *not* writing. If they continued to write, they wouldn't be on strike.
  • pintomp3, on 11/08/2007, -3/+78even in the comments system we have solidarity and sympathy. that stewart really does inspire.
  • slkuhn, on 11/08/2007, -51/+121I was so scared that this strike might affect the Daily Show. Thank you for bringing some comfort to me.
  • Superflks, on 11/07/2007, -4/+74Done and Done.
  • notque, on 11/07/2007, -16/+81Eugene Debs is one of my heroes too.

    Eugene Debs and the Idea of Socialism
    http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/EDebs_Socia ...

    Debs was what every socialist or anarchist or radical should be fierce in his convictions, kind and compassionate in his personal relations. Sam Moore, a fellow inmate of the Atlanta penitentiary, where Debs was imprisoned for opposing the first world war, told, years later, how he felt as Debs was about to be released on Christmas Day 1921: "As miserable as I was, I would defy fate with all its cruelty as long as Debs held my hand, and I was the most miserably happiest man on earth when I knew he was going home Christmas."

    Debs had won the hearts of his fellow prisoners in Atlanta. He had fought for them in a hundred ways, and refused any special privileges for himself. That day of Debs' release from Atlanta prison, the warden ignored prison regulations and opened every cellblock to allow over two thousand inmates to mass in front of the main jail building to say goodbye to Eugene Debs. As he started down the walkway from the prison, a roar went up and he turned, tears streaming down his face, and stretched out his arms to the other prisoners.
  • CLShortFuse, on 11/10/2007, -7/+72We should all go on strike! I hate Windows Genuine Advantage.
  • pixelate, on 11/06/2007, -0/+59Comment abuse. Update from linked source:

    UPDATE, 1:50 P.M.: Confusion: Jon Stewart's rep just called back to deny the information above. I checked back with my source, who set me straight on a few details: Stewart is not paying writers out of his own pocket, but through Busboy, his production company. And it's not just writers who are getting their salaries covered but everyone.

    But when I ran this by Stewart's rep, he emailed back, "While I hesitate to knock down every rumor that comes up, the assertion that Jon and/or Busboy Productions will be paying for the staff is false and we have no further comment beyond this at this time."
  • jonnymj, on 11/06/2007, -4/+56digg the above down, I now realize he is paying his writers NOT to work
  • kahlessreborn, on 11/06/2007, -14/+66I actually believe that he is doing this for the writers and not to just preserve the show. But the show needs to be preserved for it perfectly counters the fox news juggernaut.

    I bet if the strike goes past 2 weeks and if they opened donations we coudl pay for the show forever.
  • jonnymj, on 11/06/2007, -1/+52oh ok that makes more sense, I guess I should have read the article instead of jumping to conclusions from the description!
  • coit, on 11/07/2007, -1/+46Here's what I see:

    Mistake #1: Call everyone a douche bag
    Mistake #2: Post the exact same comment twice
  • rjacobs, on 11/06/2007, -2/+46Have you ever paid for your striking writers... on weed!?
  • Ravie, on 11/06/2007, -1/+43Nice to see people looking out for each other, instead of just trying to make as big a profit as possible.
  • boxybrzown, on 11/07/2007, -1/+43Hmm...guess it doesn't always work. Further testing is clearly needed.
  • coit, on 11/06/2007, -0/+40Actually, I think he is offering to support them so that they CAN strike without missing the money.
  • op12, on 11/06/2007, -1/+37Stewart's company Busboy Productions produces The Colbert Report, so it's in his best interest to do so. Not that he's any less awesome for doing this, just saying.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busboy_Productions
  • revjustin2, on 11/06/2007, -0/+35If these guys were left to write 1 hour's worth of new material every week, they'd burn out after week 3. Have you noticed that comedians use what is called a "routine". Why do you think they call it that? They do it over and over again. You think comedians make up all new stuff every single time they perform? Nope.
  • jspegele, on 11/06/2007, -2/+37Unfortunately for you, the writers are ON STRIKE.
  • evilpettingzoo, on 11/06/2007, -4/+36catalysis- When you go on strike you don't get paid. What he's saying is that he supports them in their strike and will pay them out of his own pocket. Strikes really take a toll on the people who have to stand out on picket lines especially if its a long strike and you usually can't get a new job, because you have to stand out in picket lines.
  • andy0484, on 11/06/2007, -0/+31Thank you! I was beginning to think I was the only sane person reading this. This story does not mean that we will be watching The Daily Show or The Colbert Report before the strike is over, it just means that he is going to continue to pay his writers their wages so they can "survive." Sorry to be a buzz kill.
  • vanbacon, on 11/06/2007, -7/+37And who is your childhood hero please tell s so we can laugh at it
  • inactive, on 11/06/2007, -1/+30What a guy =)
  • sibhod, on 11/12/2007, -9/+37are you so stubbornly blind that you instantly reject any different social structure outright? are you so brainwashed to the virtues of capitalism that you can't see it's obvious failings?

    i'm not advocating either way here, but to out-right dismiss socialism over capitalism smacks of foolish jingoism
  • inactive, on 11/06/2007, -3/+31Nice job NOT reading the story, NOT reading the comments already pointing out others who didn't read the story, AND totally looking like a jackass in your comment!

    Impressive work!
  • nestafett, on 11/06/2007, -6/+34Maybe it has to do with the huge amount of power and control that companies have compared to the tiny voice that one person has.

    Maybe because millions of working people have no health care

    maybe because the wage increases have been essentially stagnant over the past 20 years

    etc....

    (Same reason they needed them a hundred years ago, the income gap is now comparable to that of the Guilded age)
  • pintomp3, on 11/06/2007, -2/+29how is that interesting? do you think solo artists play all of their own instruments?
  • forcedfx, on 11/06/2007, -0/+27I think it means he's just paying them during the strike but they won't keep writing for him. Kind of like a 2 week paid vacation courtesy of Jon Stewart.
  • ChronicColonic, on 11/06/2007, -0/+27Whig.
  • Ravie, on 11/06/2007, -0/+26*facepalm*
  • ZenMojo, on 11/06/2007, -1/+26That's the thing with the Daily Show. In a world of fake news, at least they're honest about it.
  • ronaldinho, on 11/07/2007, -2/+25where's the magic word, dude? digging you down as we speak. Say please, moron, and no, you don't call people douchebags and still get dugg up unless you make a lot of sense
  • Ravie, on 11/06/2007, -0/+22See some of the above posts, they're not going to be writing for him, he's just paying them anyway.
  • kurvalicious99, on 11/06/2007, -6/+27ditto. Jon Stewart for life (Colbert too)
  • shaun1018, on 11/06/2007, -0/+18*headdesk* please read the article
  • revjustin2, on 11/06/2007, -4/+21hee heee hee "hehehe heehehe"
  • wild, on 11/06/2007, -0/+17He isn't saying they have to be scabs. He is just covering their salaries while they are showing the reruns. Its actually a really impressive act.
  • milliamp, on 11/06/2007, -6/+23Isn't that sort of the problem? So Stewart makes so much money that he can afford to pay all the people who write his and Colbert's stuff out of his own check?
  • youruglyclone, on 11/06/2007, -5/+21wow who knew residuals from "The Faculty" and "Half Baked" has put so much for Jon's coffers. Good for him though.
  • vondrak, on 11/06/2007, -1/+17That's fine for the writers, but what about the other people who will be out of a job b/c of the strike?
    Directors, producers, actors, makeup, stunts, audio, gaffers, best boys, grips,PAs, and every low paid assistant who has no say in the strike will be out of a job.
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