Nov 28, 2007 5:47 pm US/Central
Presidential Debate Canceled Amid CBS Strike Plans
CHICAGO, Ill (CBS) ―
News writers for CBS are ''strongly considering" a Dec. 10 strike date.
The timing would appear to be an attempt by union leadership
to disrupt CBS plans for a presidential debate the same day. A spokeswoman for the writers guild said today that no date has been officially set, but that Dec. 10 "is a date that we are strongly considering."
That strategy may now be moot. CBS News has confirmed the debate has been canceled, citing the on-going labor standoff.
"CBS News regrets not being able to offer the Democratic
presidential debate scheduled for Dec. 10 in Los
Angeles. 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," said a CBS News statement released late Wednesday afternoon.Several Democratic presidential candidates-including Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, John Edwards and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton--have said they would not cross a picket line to participate in a debate.
Earlier today, internal CBS e-mails began to circulate saying that members of the writer's union were notified of a strike date. However the WGA later said that no specific date had been set and that no official e-mail had been sent.
The writers working for both the CBS network newscasts and local news stations have been working without a contract for more than 2 years.
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