Striking workers, parasitic scabs, and consequentialist decision-making: Sound like an Upton Sinclair novel? Or maybe the latest Craigslist scandal? Affirmative, on both counts. Besides being (roughly) the story behind Sinclair’s The Flivver King, these are the elements of a hilarious (and by some accounts immoral) fake Craigslist ad soliciting non-union writers for a “network television situation comedy.” The ad, which turned out to be a scab-fishing operation by the New York Press, garnered more than 80 e-mail responses in less than 24 hours. Check out Matt Elzweig’s story, and read many of the entertaining responses, in the New York Press.
Let’s withhold judgment regarding the journalistic integrity of this project until the obvious questions are answered: What are self-described bona fide sitcom writers doing looking for jobs on Craigslist? And who will pour the drinks at the Roxy if all the formerly unemployed writers really do start scabbing for network TV?
—Morgan Winters
