It seems as if Santa’s work has been done for him this year. His naughty and nice list, at least for some of the top celebrities in Hollywood, has been plastered all over newsstand practically since last Christmas! The American public probably knows more about the personal lives and social fiascos of their favorite big screen star than they do about wars and natural disasters happening on the other side of the globe! Just ask the kids…

Who’s Tops the Naughty List?
Ask any boy or girl, even some as young as two years old, who tops Santa’s naughty list this year. You may be surprised! They are less likely to name classic villains such as Darth Vader or the Grinch from Dr. Seuss’s classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, or even Swiper the Fox from popular children’s show Dora the Explorer, and will instead recite names from the recent covers of the magazines in the grocery story check-out aisles.

Britney Spears claimed the number one spot on the list. Joining her at the top of the list is fellow “bad girl” Paris Hilton, who was plastered on the front page for her three weeks spent in, and for a short time out, of jail. Farther down the list come Lindsay Lohan and Beyonce. (more…)

Since November 5th, 2007, the Writers Guild of America has been on strike, halting production of many of America’s favorite TV shows. The WGA East and WGA West have combined efforts to negotiate with American film and TV producers to find common ground and get everyone back to work. Thus far, they’ve been unsuccessful.

Strike Issues
The WGA, a labor union that represents over 12,000 film, television, and radio writers, negotiates a Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA) every three years with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the trade organization that employs the writers. The 2007 negotiations broke down, and the strike resulted. The key issues at stake for the writers are the DVD residuals, details about reality TV and animated shows, and, above all, their rights regarding new media, such as the Internet.

New Media
Most writers involved in the strike consider new media to be the central item of contention. The issues regarding “new media” in this strike address such recent trends as downloading TV programs through outlets such as iTunes, or watching programs directly from websites. Consumers “fast-forwarding” through commercials as they watch programs on Tivo or DVR demand other sources of revenue, of which writers want a fair share. (more…)