DNC cancels CBS presidential debate

The Democratic Party pulled the plug today on a CBS presidential candidate debate set to be held in Los Angeles on Dec. 10, citing the possibility of a strike by CBS News employees.

"Due to the uncertainty created by the ongoing labor dispute between CBS and the Writers Guild of America, the DNC has canceled the December 10th debate in Los Angeles,” Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Karen Finney said in a statement. “There are no plans to reschedule.”

After going 2½ years without a contract, a majority of CBS’ 500 news writers and other local and network employees represented by the Writers Guild of America voted earlier this month to authorize a strike against the network.

The union had not yet decided whether to call for a labor stoppage, but the mere prospect of a walkout alarmed network and party officials, especially after the major Democratic candidates announced they would not cross a picket line to participate in the forum.

Even if the news writers stayed on the job, the WGA could have chosen to picket the debate as part of the ongoing film and television writers strike.

In a series of back-channel meetings, CBS sought to persuade the guild to refrain from picketing the event in the name of public interest, but were unsuccessful, according to people familiar with the discussions.

“CBS News regrets not being able to offer the Democratic presidential debate scheduled for Dec. 10 in Los Angeles,” the network said in a statement. “The possibility of picket lines set up by the Writers Guild of America and the unwillingness of many candidates to cross them made it necessary to allow the candidates to make other plans.”

The debate, which was set to be carried by CSPAN and some local CBS affiliates, would have offered moderator Katie Couric a forum to demonstrate her political chops as the campaign season swings into full gear.

“There’s disappointment,” said one newsroom staffer. “It was a big thing, and we were all excited to do it.”

More news on the strike

-- Matea Gold

For the record: An earlier version of this post said that the Democratic Party, along with CBS, tried to persuade the WGA not to picket the Dec. 10 debate. Although party officials checked in with guild leaders about their plans, they did not ask the union not to picket.

Comments

[Stephen]

Looks like we're back to doing debates on YouTube and misc TV broadcasts. It would appear that the WGA is intent on taking this strike all the way to the end - even if that means interrupting programming into next year's election coverage. I see the makings of a classic battle between big business and the union, with the union hoping to capitalize on now more popular left-leaning views on jobs and the economy. Yett, their feud is largely over Internet royalties, and as many know, the Internet has destroyed as many businesses as it has built. So - these are uncharted waters for a union showdown.

If four years of unabated unlawful music downloading and the USSC's eventual Groekster decision protecting business royalty streams offers any insight to the WGA outcome, I'd be betting on an outcome that has the royalty considerations going to the writers. And, just like the losses taken by the music recording industry, sometimes even when you win, you still loose.

My advice: Like I said to counsel in Groekster, "The marketplace is always right. You must do whatever you can to meet the demands of the consumer."

[gravel kucinich paul nader]

HDNet Dec 1 DNC debate (Sat 7:30pm ET)
- all eight -

gravel kucinich paul nader