The Association attempted to reach an interim agreement with the Writers Guild to allow its members to write for the ceremonies. When a compromise fell through, striking writers threatened to picket the event; almost all of the celebrities planning to attend, including members of the Screen Actors Guild who pledged their support for the strike, promised to boycott the awards rather than cross the picket lines.2
To compensate for lost programming time, NBC broadcast a special two-hour edition of Dateline, including film clips, interviews with the nominees, plus commentary from comedian Kathy Griffin and Tiki Barber, Jerome Bettis, and Cris Collinsworth from Football Night in America, starting at 7:00pm EST; a one-hour Hollywood Foreign Press Association news conference announcing the winners at The Beverly Hilton Hotel starting at 9:00pm EST; and a one-hour edition of Access Hollywood visiting sites of the various previously-scheduled parties, starting at 10:00pm EST.3
^ ab Cieply, Michael and Carr, David (2008-01-08). "No Golden Globes Show, Just a News Conference". The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-01-08. "the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced Monday that the festive awards dinner will be replaced by a news conference at 9 p.m. Eastern time next Sunday night to announce the actual winners"
