lifestyle THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2016

Feature

STRASBOURG, FRANCE: Entertainment workers, known in French as “intermittents du spectacle”, prepare banners as they occupy the Theatre National de Strasbourg (TNS) yesterday. — AFP Six French theatres occupied as pay protest spreads

ntertainment workers were occupying Strasbourg without disrupting performances. six theatres across France yesterday as There were a series of similar short-lived Eprotests grew against a bid to cut occupations last week across France by “inter- their pay. Protesting actors and technicians mittents”-artists and culture workers who took over part of the Comedie Francaise in benefit from a generous unemployment sys- Paris Tuesday, forcing the management to tem to compensate for their erratic incomes. cancel performances on France’s most hal- Employers last month agreed cuts of 185 mil- lowed stage. lion euros ($208 million) to a national pay And the curtain also stayed down on the fund with three of the smaller unions in the hit production of “Phaedra” starring Isabelle sector, but most “intermittents” are fiercely Huppert at the Odeon theatre in the city’s resisting the change. But with long-running Left Bank, which has been occupied since the talks over their pay and status in deadlock, weekend. The latest flare-up in the long-run- protests have grown more radical. — AFP ning row was sparked by riot police clearing hundreds of demonstrators from the square in front of the Odeon on Monday. But several dozen remain inside the build- ing, a hugely symbolic venue which was also occupied by students during France’s May PARIS : Entertainment work- 1968 protests. Protesters have also taken over ers, known in French as “inter- parts of major regional theatres in Lille, mittents du spectacle”, occupy Bordeaux, Montpellier and Caen, and briefly la Comedie Francaise on staged a symbolic protest on Tuesday night in Tuesday. — AFP Michael Strahan’s ‘Live’ Exit Just Melissa Etheridge, Priscilla the Latest in Morning Anchor Drama he network morning shows are in the Gold, VP and director of programming Renea share songwriting secrets midst of a musical-chairs moment that research for Amplifi U.S., a media-buying enti- Tis as much about positioning for the ty that is part of Japan’s Dentsu. elissa Etheridge and songwriter Priscilla into this reality and create a rhythm and a tone experienced technology’s evolution throughout future as it is about the day-to-day battle for Renea had never met before sitting down that makes the whole tribe dance. There’s just her career (“My first record was on vinyl and cas- ratings and bragging rights. ABC’S strategy Mto discuss their craft, and within an hour, nothing like it. It’s magic.” sette”), but only recently embraced it. Etheridge ABC set off a shuffle-and a kerfuffle-with ABC’s surprise move with Strahan is clearly they were spontaneously harmonizing together. Etheridge has won two Grammys and an collaborated with various artists at their home news last week that “Live With Kelly and aimed at shoring up “GMA” as it brawls with Etheridge plucked a guitar from the wall of Academy Award for her music. Renea recently studios to make her most recent album, 2014’s Michael” co-host Michael Strahan would “Today” to remain No. 1 in the 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. electrics and acoustics hanging in the front room wrote a song that earned a Grammy nod: Carrie “This is M.E.,” rather than taking her traditional move to “Good Morning America” full-time in slot-a crown “GMA” won in 2012 after “Today” of her suburban home. As she strummed a bluesy Underwood and ’s 2014 hit duet, route of writing an album’s worth of songs the fall. Meanwhile, NBC’s “Today” is mulling had enjoyed an unprecedented 16-year win- rhythm, Renea sat beside her and began to sing. “Somethin’ Bad.” Renea’s other credits include the before spending two straight weeks in a record- shifts in its 9 a.m. anchor team as it looks to ning streak. This season, “Today” has beaten “Just want to write a song,” they suddenly sang and Kesha hit “Timber,” ’s ing studio. see who clicks with whom. “GMA” in the demo most coveted by advertis- together, laughing underneath. “All of my prob- “” and tracks for , Digital recording advances mean “you can ers-viewers aged 25 to 54 — for eight months lems will be solved when I write a hit song.” and . have these small studios and you can create right running. For the season to April 15, overall Though Etheridge released her first album the She sheepishly confessed to singing there,” she said. But she still writes lyrics longhand. viewership of “GMA” dipped 8% compared year that Renea was born (1988), each has penned Etheridge’s “Come to My Window” over and over “I like to write it and then scratch it out,” Etheridge with the year-earlier period, while its 25-to-54 her share of hits. They’re set to perform and share again since learning about her meeting with said. “Because if I erase it, it’s gone forever, and crowd fell 13%. (Meanwhile, “CBS This stories about their experiences in the music Etheridge for this interview. Etheridge said she sometimes I want to go back to that idea.” Morning” has gained ground over the past industry at the ASCAP “I Create Music” songwrit- researched Renea’s work and admired her “beauti- As the two songwriters chat, their mutual two years with a focus on hard news, though ing expo in Los Angeles on Thursday. Renea plans ful songwriting” on “California King.” admiration grows. After their mini jam session, it continues to lag behind its broadcast rivals.) to sing “Purple Rain” in tribute to Prince. The “It’s one of those things like: god, I wish I’d they make plans to work together.Both said Sky-High Stakes The morning TV sector is three-day conference also promises appearances written that,” Etheridge said. Inspiration often there’s no way to know which songs will healthy, with overall ad spending growing by Timbaland, Pat Benatar, singer Andra Day and strikes in the shower, Renea said. Etheridge become hits, and because no manual exists for $1.24b Ad dollars spent on network morning Matchbox Twenty front man Rob Thomas. agreed it usually happens whenever she doesn’t how to make it in the music business, artists talk shows in 2015. 10.7% Increase over 2014 But on this sunny afternoon at Etheridge’s have a pen or a guitar. When it comes to actually just have to keep on creating. “You just never ad spend 13%. “Good Morning America” drop home in a quiet, gated community in the San writing music, Etheridge is old-school and Renea know, so you just have to do what you love,” in 25-54 viewership over same period last Fernando Valley, she and Renea are casually chat- is high-tech.”I got discovered on YouTube,” the 27- Etheridge said. “Do your best, do what you love year. 8% “Good Morning America” drop in ting about their creative approaches when it year-old said. and put it out there.”— AP overall viewership over same period last year becomes clear that despite their differences in She composes music and lyrics on her comput- ABC no doubt hopes Strahan will help tackle age, experience and use of technology, they er or iPad with an app called MasterWriter where NEW YORK: Anchors Kelly Ripa and “Today,” which could gain fresh momentum in speak the same language of songwriting. “you can flip back and forth between screens and Michael Strahan appear to have made weeks to come: NBCUniversal’s coverage of The secret, they said, is being open to inspira- do voice notes and sing your melodies.” Renea up on Tuesday while co-hosting ‘Live’ the Olympics this summer is sure to draw mil- tion and fearless in its expression.”I think our job also keeps a running file of song ideas to plumb again together after the drama they lions of viewers, and could lend the NBC as songwriters is to catch the inspiration when it when she’s feeling inspired. went through last week. morning stalwart a big boost. “The Olympics comes,” Etheridge said. “If you exercise your right Etheridge, on the other hand, said she’s “not have always been a boon to ratings,” said a brain, you can find that and you can bring it back a computer kind of person.” The 54-year-old has person familiar with the show. “Today” won’t The moves are all part of the ongoing be shy about trumpeting its connection to nuclear war in the a.m. between the net- the event. On April 27, the “Today” crew will works, each eager to conquer the early- and start a countdown, taking to the plaza outside mid-morning crowd. Willie Geist, who co- its studio to note that the opening ceremony anchors the 9 a.m. hour of “Today,” was dis- is just 100 days away. patched earlier this month to host a Perhaps Strahan will slow that Olympics revamped Sunday edition of the program. charge. “We got a chance to have Michael a Even CBS stalwart “Sunday Morning” is facing couple of days a week, and now we are look- a generational shift as the network tries to set ing forward to having him on the team full up a successor to Charles Osgood, who has time,” said Tom Cibrowski, senior VP of ABC anchored the program since 2004 and is said News Programs, News Gathering and Special to be negotiating his exit. In the process, the Events, in an interview. Morning-show battles TV news units will try to figure out which of aren’t going away, he added. The programs their members will, over time, make for suc- “bring in a lot of viewers and a lot of eyeballs, cessors to mainstays like Matt Lauer and and they start the day on the television net- Robin Roberts. works. It’s a very important time period, and At stake is a growing pot bubbling with for our purposes, we always want to field the advertising dollars. Sponsors spent more than strongest team.” If executives have devised a $1.24 billion on network morning talk shows plan to weave Strahan in and out of the last year, according to Kantar Media-an show’s usual flow, Cibrowski wasn’t willing to increase of 10.7% over the $1.12 billion spent spill the details. Could there be more moves in the category in 2014. “Most advertisers buy in the offing? In TV news circles, there are all three morning-news telecasts, but being perennial rumors about whether each side’s ahead of your competition is always the best team will remain intact. vantage point and usually translates into a bigger piece of the ad-dollar pie,” said Billie HIDDEN HILLS, CALIFORNIA: Singers Melissa Etheridge, right, and Priscilla Renea pose for a portrait. — AP photos