Neal Justin: Magers' station could look to 'CCO for help

Paul Magers' wildly successful three-year run in Los Angeles might be about to hit a speed bump.

The former KARE muscleman might soon be operating out of a depleted newsroom as the union representing CBS news writers in several major markets considers going on strike over several issues, including the pay scale for those working in local radio. The guild held a vote last Thursday and Friday with results scheduled to be announced today. With strike fever running rampant in the entertainment business, the situation doesn't look promising.

"There's a lot of apprehension," said Magers, who helped take his station ahead last year in the late-night wars for the first time in 34 years. "I feel bad for them, but I've got to keep doing my job. It's in my contract."

If there is a walkout, Magers most likely will be getting some assistance from the Twin Cities. Angela Benson, an executive producer at WCCO, is on the call list to fill in for strikers. Spending time in Los Angeles during the winter months might sound like a great break, but Benson has two boys at home under age 3. And then there's the matter of crossing the picket line.

"I don't like it, but then again, I kind of have to be a good company soldier," Benson said. WCCO is owned and operated by CBS, but its writers belong to a different union. "Will people be throwing things at me? I don't know. I can see both sides of the strike. People want to be paid for their work and paid well, but I also get that the company needs to run things, too."

If Benson does make the trip, she won't arrive empty-handed. She's hoping that WCCO anchor Don Shelby will let her pack one of his ties, finished off with one of his bizarre knots, that she can present to his old competitor.

Strike two

The continuing strike by TV and film writers is a painful reminder for Coon Rapids' Alex Cole that he's a comic with terrible timing.

We're not talking about his ability to deliver a line, something he's done successfully for years as a journeyman entertainer. It has to do with how his career peaked -- and plummeted -- the last time Hollywood froze.

In 1988, Cole was riding high. He had just been voted entertainer of the year by college campuses, signed with the William Morris Agency, booked a three-year gig in Las Vegas, and, most important, been named one of ABC's Stars of Tomorrow, a title that came with a production deal for a sitcom pilot.

That is, of course, if disaster didn't strike. It did. Writers went on strike for 22 weeks, during which Cole's contract with the network expired.

By the time everyone was back in production, executives were courting the next hot prospects.

"I thought, 'I'll get another shot,'" Cole said. "Little did I know in Hollywood, you only get one shot."

Cole said he doesn't want to come across as a whiner and insists that he's had a wonderful career, most recently as a character actor in local theater. He's also planning to give Los Angeles another try, but he knows that superstardom is probably out of his reach and that this strike will probably kill a lot of other dreams.

"There are forks in the road and that was one of my forks," he said. "I did what I was supposed to do, but sometimes there are powers that are out of your control."

njustin@startribune.com • 612-673-7431