* White Hunter, Black Heart. Moonves boasts about "bagging" the WGA!

NEW YORK -- CBS Corp. CEO Leslie Moonves said Tuesday that "pilots are vastly overrated" and that the impact of the writers strike has given the network the ability to reexamine its development process.

He also said that his company was not hurt financially by the writers strike and is not seeing any signs of recession.

Speaking to Wall Street analysts during the company's quarterly earnings call, Moonves reached into his 20-plus years as a successful network programmer to say there has been a lot of wasted spending.

"It hasn't necessarily been the most expensive shows that have hit it out of the ballpark," Moonves said. "There's some feeling that you don't have to spend $5 million" on a pilot to know whether the show will be a success. He said that the 20th episode was a better indication than the first episode of a series.

"I don't think you need to spend a huge amount of money to find those hits," Moonves said. He said the network would operate more efficiently in the future with the changes being put into place now.

Hmmm, and how can they spend less money? Ahhhh, well, unless SAG stakes out its jurisdiction and says no, they, like Disney, will produce their shows under an AFTRA Contract with inferior minimums and residual giveaways.

Moonves and CFO Fred Reynolds said the company had not been adversely affected financially from the three-month-long writers strike, which ended in time for the network to return original programming in the spring. CBS in fact saved around $70 million in the fourth quarter thanks to the strike. There will be a "significant" but as yet unstated amount of savings in the first quarter.

Many of those who have seen the DGA and WGA contracts just shake their heads, and wonder why there was a strike in the first place, if that was what they were willing to settle for.

"During the short term we were able to manage operating costs at the network very well," Moonves said. That includes significant reductions in operating expenses as well as terminating what Moonves called "costly" writing and producing deals. The network does not have any make-good issues either and scatter pricing is running about 30% more than what the network received in the upfront.

But, but, if we just go into negotiations early and talk, we can work out a good deal with people/people like Les Moonves and his pals. As you can ascertain by Mr. Moonves comments, there are more important things than profit, and certainly, they don’t put profit before people.

Moonves looked forward to the upfront, which will tout CBS' new schedule on air and online. He said that the network will benefit from a "faster, leaner development model" with fewer expensive pilots and greater efficiencies. Already 11 shows have been renewed.

Greater efficiencies? And of course, the way they will increase those greater efficiencies is by cutting back on their exorbitant salaries. Right? Hmmm, so if they don’t cut back on their salaries, whose? Star’s like Hanks, Clooney, DiNero and Streep? Ahhh, noooo! Hey, how about the rank & file actor? Now, there’s a thought!

According to Deadline Hollywood, Les' compensation is up over 30 Million now.

Meanwhile, Moonves said CBS isn't being affected by a recession that some economists have suggested may have hit other segments of the U.S. economy.

Despite growing fears that the economy is starting to affect the ad-supported media that makes up the bulk of the revenue of companies like CBS, Moonves said that there's no evidence of it there. He pointed to Fox Broadcasting's ability to receive an average of $2.7 million for a 30-second spot during the Super Bowl this month as evidence of strength in the economy.

"That doesn't tell me that there's something drastically wrong with the economy when guys will pay that much for those spots," Moonves said. He added that in a recession "the last thing you want to do is pull back from network television."

One of the growing revenue streams is the upcoming March Madness online coverage. Moonves said the online product, which has been free for the past three years, delivered $10 million in revenue last year, and CBS is projecting it will take in $21 million this month with exactly the same cost of production.

But, but this streaming is just for promotional purposes,and, hey, just cause they pick up a few bucks on the side, it's is no big deal. Right?

"The great majority of that $21 million will drop to the bottom line," Moonves said.

And the bottom line, unless members are united in demanding their fair share, it ain’t gonna drop into their pockets.

Mr. Moonves gloating aside, The following letter best sums up the outcome of the writers strike.

Creds: got here in 1962, written for just about everybody, won the Writers Guild Award four times for solo work, sat on the WGAw Board twice, worked on negotiating committees, and was out on the picket lines with my NICK COUNTER SLEEPS WITH THE FISHE$ sign. You may have heard my name. I am a Union guy, I am a Guild guy, I am loyal. I fuckin' LOVE the Guild.

And I voted NO on accepting this deal.

My reasons are good, and they are plentiful; Patric Verrone will be saddened by what I am about to say; long-time friends will shake their heads; but this I say without equivocation…

THEY BEAT US LIKE A YELLOW DOG. IT IS A SHIT DEAL.

We finally got a timorous generation that has never had to strike, to get their asses out there, and we had to put up with the usual cowardly spineless babbling horse's asses who kept mumbling "lessgo bac'ta work" over and over, as if it would make them one iota a better writer. But after months on the line, and them finally bouncing that pus-sucking dipthong Nick Counter, we rushed headlong into a shabby, scabrous, underfed shovelfulla shit clutched to the affections of toss-in-the-towel summer soldiers trembling before the Awe of the Alliance.

My Guild did what it did in 1988. It trembled and sold us out. It gave away the EXACT co-terminus expiration date with SAG for some bullshit short-line substitute; it got us no more control of our words; it sneak-abandoned the animator and reality beanfield hands before anyone even forced it on them; it made nice so no one would think we were meanies; it let the Alliance play us like the village idiot. The WGAw folded like a Texaco Road Map from back in the day.

And I am ashamed of this Guild, as I was when Shavelson was the prexy, and we wasted our efforts and lost out on technology that we had to strike for THIS time. 17 days of streaming tv!!!????? Geezus, you bleating wimps, why not just turn over your old granny for gang-rape?

You deserve all the opprobrium you get. While this nutty festschrift of demented pleasure at being allowed to go back to work in the rice paddy is filling your cowardly hearts with joy and relief that the grips and the staff at the Ivy and street sweepers won't be saying nasty shit behind your back, remember this:

You are their bitches. They outslugged you, outthought you, outmaneuvered you; and in the end you ripped off your pants, painted yer asses blue, and said yes sir, may I have another.

Please excuse my temerity. I'm just a sad old man who has fallen among Quislings, Turncoats, Hacks and Cowards.

I must go now to whoops. My gorge has become buoyant.

Respectfully, Yr. Pal, Harlan Ellison

Can anyone doubt that Hanks, Clooney, and their gang showed up to their meeting with their producer proffered buckets of blue paint for all of our asses.

Of Course, only time will tell, if in the end, we get it in the end, but as history is witness to, in the end, we usually do.

Nevertheless, a piece of advise for our SAG negotiators. With AFTRA negotiators and their "AFTRA First" USAN SAG negotiators at their side, best you wear not only belts--but also suspenders!