STRIKE SET TO SILENCE TALK SHOWS!

Producers were "cowards" for failing to raise royalties, Letterman said. Late-night TV chat shows seem likely to be the first victims of a strike by the US screenwriters' union, which has been called over royalty payments.
The Writers Guild of America has asked its 12,000 members to stop working and set up picket lines from Monday.
It wants more cash for work which goes on "new" media such as DVDs or online.
Shows hosted by stars such as Jay Leno, David Letterman and Jon Stewart are expected to stop almost immediately as they rely on a supply of topical jokes.
It was anticipated NBC would broadcast repeats of Leno's programme, The Tonight Show, plus Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Saturday Night Live from Monday if the walkout went ahead, the Hollywood Reporter said.
It also said old episodes of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report would be screened under contingency plans by the Comedy Central channel.
But as yet it was unclear what other networks intended to do, it added.
Leno made a quip about the strike on-air on Friday, saying: "They call it the toughest time for comedy writing since those three weeks back in the 1990s when Bill Clinton stopped dating. Remember that?"
The last such action, in 1988, disrupted the autumn television season.
At that time, Letterman was host of NBC's Late Night, and his programme was taken off-air at first. It did return before the end of the 22-week strike, however, but many other shows remained unbroadcast.

Satirical show The Colbert Report is set to be among the casualties. It is anticipated daytime TV output, such as chat shows and soap operas, would be next to suffer if this month's walkout goes ahead. These series are typically recorded about a week in advance of transmission.
The strike would not immediately impact production of film or primetime TV programmes, the Associated Press reported.
This was because most movie studios had already kept aside a number of scripts, and many high-profile TV dramas and comedies had enough scripts or completed shows to last until early next year.
But then Hollywood analysts do expect the supply of shows such as Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty and CSI to fizzle out, and many writers fear the TV networks will turn to additional repeats and reality programmes to fill the resulting gaps.
The studios and the union will meet on Sunday morning for last-ditch talks at a neutral venue.
Writers are demanding an increase in the fees they receive when their work is reproduced on DVDs, and a better share of revenue derived from content on the internet, mobile phones and other electronic devices.

Writers have been taking their protest to the streets of New York. But producers have rejected their demands as unworkable.
This led to Letterman calling producers "cowards, cutthroats and weasels" on his CBS show on Thursday.
Michael Winship, president of the WGA on the East Coast, said there was still time to prevent the walkout, adding: "We urge the studios to come back and bargain fairly."
Nick Counter, president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, said the studios were ready to meet and finish negotiations over the weekend.
Earlier, Mr Counter had said no progress was possible "for overriding business reasons" as long as writers insisted on increasing royalties from DVD sales.
"The DVD issue is a roadblock to these negotiations," he added.

BBC NEWS REPORT.