THE PROBLEM
In Josef Adalian’s story, “Television -- as We Know It -- Is Finished,” he reports how network executives are finding ways of cutting costs. They talk about cutting large writing staffs and cutting scripted television shows all in the name of balancing their budgets.
One even said, “We're losing salaries and we're losing people. If you can't get free sodas, I think people will survive.”
That’s a great sound bite, but the reality is, when executives lose their jobs, they usually get a golden parachute, which could cost a network millions of dollars.
That’s right. They get paid millions of dollars to walk away. If you don’t believe me, Google "Ben Silverman." I have an inside source who told me that Silverman barely showed up at the office, and when he did, he would throw a football at random people to play catch.
Yeah, he was worth his multi-million dollar deal.
Of course, the most common way of getting rid of executives is to give them a lucrative producing deal -- which just pays them to produce the same crappy shows that they were fired for greenlighting in the first place. So when executives say they are “losing salaries,” most likely that translates into they lost their second assistant or they have to share their assistant with another TV executive.
Forgive me if I don’t shed a tear.
But what really irks me is the “If you can't get free sodas, I think people will survive” idea. That’s what’s wrong with this whole crazy business and, may I dare say, with the whole corporate culture: Executives always cut that one little thing that makes it tolerable to be a P.A. making barely $350 a week before taxes and who must sacrifice his (or her) car by piling on the miles because he’s running around getting lattes for all the freaking producers at that little coffee shop miles away because that’s the only coffee they drink.
Or better yet, cut the catered lunches. God forbid that the crew, who have been working themselves ragged to get the job done, might have a nice meal.
When you look at the overall budget of a show or a department, saving money on Cokes or catering is really just cosmetic. It’s the trick of the trade to show the board of directors that costs are being cut when, in fact, the majority of budgets are eaten up by inflated executives' salaries and bonuses.
I thought bonuses were given for a job well done. Why do executives get bonuses because it’s in their contract?
If things are really that bad, I have an idea: Let’s cut bonuses for actors and writers who get nominated for Emmys and Golden Globes?
Oh, don’t get me wrong, they still will get their second-year series bonuses, writing royalties, back-end participation, option pick-up bonuses. I’m just talking about award bonuses given to talent for just getting nominated by their friends for an award created by their own Guild.
