Late Night Comedy Writers Embrace Blogging

Posted on November 26, 2007

As we've reported before, the staffs of Late Night With David Letterman and The Daily Show started their own blogs during the writers' strike. They post jokes and funny videos about the strike. The material is very recognizable to audiences who watch those shows -- it has the same style and comedic timing. Now those blogs may be one of the reasons that the AMPTP is going back to the negotiating table today. The LA Times reports:

"They're our version of electronic samizdat," said Michael Winship, president of WGA East, alluding to underground publications distributed in the former Soviet Union. "The humor is devastating."

Perhaps the most prolific purveyors have been writers for late-night comedy shows, who are accustomed to quickly satirizing current events.

"We have the rapid-response model," explained Rob Kutner, a writer for "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," who worked with his colleagues on a "Daily Show"-esque video report about the strike, delivered by writer Jason Ross from a makeshift set in front of the picket line.

"It is important to us that people understand what we're doing and that we're not just willfully taking their shows off the air," said "Daily Show" writer Tim Carvell. "But it also just felt so good to write jokes again."

You can keep up with you favorite late-night comedy writers' creations at LateShowWritersOnStrike.com. You can see one of the videos from the staff of The Daily Show here.

---

---