Daily Spittoon averts writers strike

By Tracy Farr
Editor, The Daily Spittoon

It looked like The Daily Spittoon -- the eyes, ears, nose and throat of Stinky Creek, Texas -- would fall victim to the Hollywood writers strike, but cooler heads prevailed and a strike was averted.

"We were within an issue or two of calling for a general strike, but management pulled through and met most of our needs," Tracy Farr, editor of The Daily Spittoon said.  "We had to compromise on our part as well, but we believe we've cemented a deal that will last us through the next century."

"Our writers are our most important asset," Tracy Farr, owner of The Daily Spittoon said.  "Without them, we would be nothing.  I'm glad we could work out our problems in a way that will keep this publication the epitome of small-town Texas newspapers."

At issue was the writers' belief that they should share in the profits of all analog use of their stories.  The writers receive 30 percent for the digital publication of their work.  They believed they were entitled to the same percentage for any writings printed on actual paper.

"Right now our writings are only digitalized," Farr said,  "but I can see where our work, in the future, could be used in analog form -- such as on real paper, or T-shirts, or calendars, or pencils, or on billboards.  We needed to make sure that we shared in that profit, and management agreed."

"The writers had a point," Farr said, "and we believe in our writers.  But we also had some demands of our own.  Such as no more jelly donuts next to the keyboards.  That was a big issue for me.  You don't know how much money we spend replacing keyboards due to jelly that has oozed out of the donuts our writers eat.  We also compromised on wearing the 'Let's Get Stinky' T-shirts.  They'll wear them to all sporting events as long as we don't require them to be worn at funerals or weddings. I believe that was an equitable compromise."

"This is a great day for Spittoon writers," Farr said.  "I'm just hoping the Hollywood writers get what THEY deserve."

"I agree this is a great day," Farr said.  "It's a testament to Texas journalism that writers and management can sit down together and pound out a solution that is good not only for us but for our readers as well."