Jon Stewart Paying Staff -- For Real This Time

A month ago, when the writers strike first got under way, I reported that Jon Stewart would be paying his staffers' salaries for at least part of the work stoppage out of his own pocket. But Stewart's spokesman quickly denied that was the case, leaving me to backpedal.

Today, however, Bill Carter of The New York Times reports that Stewart is part of a group of late-night hosts who "have all committed to pay their staffs out of their own funds."

Did something change? I called Stewart's spokesman and his agent, but both declined to comment.

But from what I was able to gather elsewhere, the arrangement is relatively new. Early on in the strike, Stewart was able to persuade Comedy Central to keep paying Daily Show employees (per this Los Angeles Times story from yesterday), but as it has worn on he has had to chip in money of his own to ensure no one got laid off.

Bottom line, my initial report was still inaccurate, but maybe not totally unfounded. Did my source mix up what might happen with what was happening? It's possible. Did I err in rushing secondhand, unconfirmed information to print? Without question. But at least my hunch that Stewart was the sort of mensch who'd reach into his own pocket to help his workers turned out to be on target.