Being a blogger is still considered a radical, uber-modern activity and some less-than-scrupulous media managers are now trying to lure people into Blogging for free to line their own pockets. The latest culprits are L.A. Weekly. Their new site, “Real Talk LA” is adding a blog section and needs interns to write stories on LA-related news, community events and the local Arts scene.

And they expect you to do it for free.

“No pay but an excellent opportunity to learn and to get posted on the web….” says their post on the LA portal of Craig’s List. So not only are they so utterly self-centered they expect intelligent people to spend all week gathering and writing stories for them to publish and monetize at no cost, but they can’t even summon the empathic acumen to pay for the ad?!

And “an excellent opportunity to get posted on the web” is a hook-line worthy of a Nigerian email. There are far less exploitative ways to start Blogging…Like creating a site here at Blogger and writing for your own benefit, rather than to line the pockets of avaricious ingrates who clearly regard the rest of us as merely the unpaid help.

If anyone can show me an ethical, viable way to create sustainable income from this curious addiction, I’m ready to listen. But one thing’s for sure — RealTalk is not it.

Creating an entire nation from scratch is a daunting task, demanding countless decisions, with a very slim margin for error. One detail the Fathers initially overlooked was ensuring their fellow travelers on this voyage of discovery were free to speak their minds after decades of censure from my peers of the time. This was soon remedied with a simple, yet invaluable amendment to the newly-minted Constitution.

…But they didn’t reckon on CNN.

Blogs have been a cultural phenomenon. Millions of people were suddenly able to reach across the world and share their lives and views with other, like-minded souls they could never hope to encounter by any other medium at so low a cost. And if CNN could have borrowed the mental processes necessary to formulate a policy on the practice, Chez Pazienza, their former “American Morning” Producer might still have a job.

Mr. Pazienza was fired last February when the CNN suits decided his Blog was against ‘corporate policy.’ Apparently, CNN requires their workers to avoid anything so inconvenient as a personal opinion on any topic because the station is dedicated to unbiased reporting.

Given that this is the same organization who, back in January of 200 displayed the staggering intellectual vacuity needed to decide that merging with AOL was actually a good idea, I don’t see how they’re in a position to judge? What Mr. Pazienza chose to enter into his own personal blog is not only none of their concern, it is – or at least should be – covered by the pesky new Amendment that CNN doesn’t seem to have heard about yet.

Mr. Pazienza expressed his own opinion, in his own blog, on his own time…An action that is enshrined as the inalienable right of every citizen of this radiant nation in that splendid Constitution…And CNN fired him for it. So here’s my question:

Since when did the First Amendment expire at Georgia’s borders?

The “Big Brother” crew, located in Studio City, were close to the epicenter and the cast were seen scrambling for cover when the shaking started. The whole house is actually built on a sound-stage — so it’s almost as fake as some of the inmates boobs?? — and as those inside are forbidden any form of outside contact the Producers were reduced to telling them what was happening by yelling the news at them through Bull-horns.

…You couldn’t make this stuff up??

Many of the cast are not even from California, so this was the first time they’d experienced a real, live quake. That perky Viewer’s favorite, Holly was caught on a sun-bed in only her undies when the fun started. I only wish I could be sure this proved the intellectual pygmies responsible for the show had defined a brave new policy to make people watch…but I doubt they possess the intuitive skills.

But the cameras never stopped. The show is streamed live online 24/7, so the cast had to return to ‘work’ as soon as the world calmed down. If they could only equal in relevance what they displayed in commitment, more people might find a reason to care.

They’re paying an average of $500,000 each for missing the pre-agreed ratings levels. This is the first time a Network has needed to do this in years, and it’s a sad comment that it comes as little surprise to find the Net in question is NBC.

Networks usually offer free commercial runs, called ‘make-goods,’ to repay any viewer shortfalls, but NBC has no free time left as they [in common with every other Network] are cramming as many commercials as they can get on the air in order to exploit the viewers and the Season as much as possible.

CBS, ABC and Fox also are having to reimburse their advertisers by giving ad space for free. With the kind of disingenuous spin you’d expect, they’re all blaming their failure on the use of a new ratings formula, but experts disagree. It’s the strke. People are sick of all the repeats and they’re switching off. Thousands of them!

The Nets had enough new shows to last until late November, and repeats won’t really take over until mid-January – And that’s when a certain, repugnant material will make significant contact with the air conditioning. At that point the ratings and the profits will start heading downhill….Fast!

And what do the intellectual midgets in charge plan to do to reverse this hemorrhage? They’re going to play wall-to-wall Reality – what else?! A format which every member of their audience blessed with an IQ in excess of that found in a door-knob has already made it abundantly clear they can’t stand.

‘American Gladiators’ and “Celebrity Apprentice’ and upcoming debuts like ‘Knight Rider,’ are all re-makes, being dusted off to avoid creating new shows.

And this, according to the suits, is a policy that will make their ratings go up ??

If proof were even needed that the average American TV executive has the creative capacity of navel fluff, here it is. They drive the Writers onto the picket lines to avoid paying them a decent share of the infeasible profits their creativity generates, then they re-hash shows from three-decades ago to fill the resulting scheduling gaps they’re too intellectually shallow to enhance any other way.

Wouldn’t it be simpler to pay the people with talent to do their jobs? Then the ratings would recover, the Advertiser rebates won’t bankrupt them and they’d all keep their jobs.

…Or do you think that might be too complex to grasp?

The ‘Celebrities’ are Brigitte Nielsen, Chyna, Daniel Baldwin, Jeff Conaway, Jessica Sierra, Jaimee Foxworth, Seth Binzer, Mary Carey and Ricco Rodriguez.

Hands up if you’ve ever even met anyone who’s heard of them??

Drew Pinsky, the host of the show, and probably the only trained physician willing to endanger both his license and his sanity on this mindless efluveum says his goal is, “to lift the veil and help my patients, as well as viewers, understand that addiction is a disease that will kill you.”

Altogether now…Well, Duh!?!

The series will follow these attention-addicted, D-list-Wannabes through a 21-day detox program with both group and solo therapy sessions. After they complete the program the saddest cases are invited to dry out completely at VH1′s expense. In their shoes, being faced with such incontrovertible evidence that my career was now brain-dead would render such remedial care a need beyond desperate.

“Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew” is Executive Produced by John Irwin and Damian Sullivan. Dr. Drew Pinsky and Howard Lapides are also Executive Producers. And just in case the payroll wasn’t padded enough, Michael Hirschorn, Jeff Olde, Jill Holmes and Noah Pollack will Executive Produce for VH1.

…Could someone explain to me why, exactly, it takes eight people on six-figure salaries to “Executive Produce” 41-minutes of Television that wouldn’t tax the IQ of a Care Bear??

The show…for want of a term of pithier, more Anglo-Saxon derivation…will debut on Vh1 on January 10th. Should any of you have the slightest inclination to watch, you might care to consider some treatment yourself?

And what does a major player like, say, NBC do to recover? They add more commercials!

The November 15th episode of “30 Rock,” featured Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey in a gossamer-thin sham of profit-driven, tub-thumping for a cellphone company, dressed up to look like part of the show.

Carson – who is not a member of the WGA – will start taping shows on Wednesday, to be aired next week. No guest list is available – and I’d hate to be the Agent for anyone self-absorbed enough to volunteer for it. The Writer’s Guild has made no comment about this Network-wrangled treachery so far — but you can all imagine what their reaction might be.

And Carson’s not in good company – Ellen’s been in production since day two of the strike. And she’s a WGA member! The other late-night hosts have [so far] relied on repeats rather than undermine the strikers, so who’ll be the next to return? NBC isn’t saying. A similar enquiry at CBS was met with the sound of crickets…and no formal word on the future.

The WGA and their Network bosses resumed talks yesterday – the first serious gathering since this whole, sordid mess started on November 5th. The news that one network has coerced a show to resume is hardly going to make the discussions more friendly. You can expect news that they broke down any time now. And once they do, it could be weeks before a return.

If “Last Call” truly is to resume, that provokes a simple question — Who do you think will be next?

The WGA has a hugely popular channel on YouTube that shows interviews, celebrity supporters, information videos and other items to clarify why so much of television is now even worse than usual. The sad part is, most people don’t even know it’s there. The vast majority of the audience form their view of the situation based on the big 3′s TV “news” shows, and consequently garner a very one-sided perspective. But the message is still reaching a significant audience. And it’s growing. The Screen Actors Guild and the Teamsters are already on their side. And it’s pretty hard to make any television without those people in your team.

During the last strike in ’88 the Internet was a glimmer. Now it’s a fire. And the irony that the very medium at the core of the Strike is now turning the entire viewing audience inexorably against their case cannot have escaped the attentions of those at the Nets; Even people imbued with the intellectual simplicity of the AMPTP must be awake and inhaling a little Cappuccino by now??

They have bullied, prevaricated and spread hearsay, and are now resorting to contractual fine print to give hundreds of staff – and soon the Writers themselves – the Christmas present of a brand new pink slip. The one act in which they are seemingly unwilling to indulge is discussion.

This strike must end; And to enable that, positions must change. If the Nets spent half the time talking to the Guild that they do lying to the viewers about its cause, this dispute would already be history. It must be obvious, even to people of the limited cognitive capacity so amply demonstrated by those in charge that your reputations are dropping, as are your ratings; And with those go your precious profits. One of these things must matter to you, so stop spreading rumors and start resolving this ignorantly self-inflicted crisis.

Update: The two sides are now scheduled to meet again on Nov. 26th.

* Winston Churchill

But when they talk to the Shareholders, these same corporate suits are claiming profits in millions and gleefully assuring them that tons more easy money is on the way.

…Did I miss a memo or is somebody here getting lied to?

Anyone who’s run a major business will tell you the first rule is to keep your Shareholders happy, but this smacks of malfeasance. They tell the Shareholders there’s so much profit they can’t spend it all, while at the same time donning sackcloth and ashes to tell the Writers they’re broke and couldn’t possibly find another dime.

This to the people who make the whole industry – and their own fat salaries – possible?!

As I see it, the Nets can’t win: Lie to the Writers and the strike continues, and your precious profits land in the toilet…Fast! But lying to the Shareholders? That’s fraud. And that wins you a bespoke orange jumpsuit.

Either way, they’re trapped; If the Internet and cellphone markets are the vast ocean of green of which they’re assuring the Shareholders this entire strike was caused by boundless, disingenuous greed, perpetrated to steal from the Writers to pad the bottom line and inflate their own related bonuses.

If, however – and I severely doubt this could be the case — the claims of poverty are the truth, the Shareholders are backing a group of such staggering collective stupidity they remain utterly unable to define a single way to profit from the greatest technological advance in the medium since the arrival of Satellite.

Once this inexorable truth was revealed, of course, the Shareholders would leave, their investment would leave and the Networks would collapse overnight.

The bosses have no honorable choice but to apologize for this premeditated deceit, and either the Writers or the Investors need to get the truth. Now.

Would any of you care to bet on how soon that’s likely to happen??