MTV was three weeks away from starting production on ”The Real World: Philadelphia” — until yesterday. Apparently someone from a local union had threatened to keep picketers outside the shooting location 24/7, as well as promising to follow any cast member that dared walk outside. This would have basically ruined the show so MTV decided they didn’t want to bother with the hassle and pulled out. Isn’t this blackmail? The union guys call it negotiations. The result of MTV’s departure is that Philly loses out on some sorely needed nationwide publicity that would have been repeated for years and even sold on DVD. This city has enough problems trying to retain their younger people and an even harder time trying to get new young people to move in. This has resulted in people like me (from Texas) getting to take on a job that someone from Philly could have done. I’m not saying that I don’t appreciate the shortage, but in the long run this town could have used the publicity benefits that would have come from the show. I went to a locally sponsored protest outside the Seaman’s building yesterday where the show was to be taped. It was only a block from my apartment so I brought along Chewy. I saw Joe Vasquez of NBC-10 coming up with some really good questions, seemingly on the fly. Joe’s wife used to work for the e-business firm I work for back when we were all in Houston. They’re a cool couple and I’ve been lucky to hang out with them for breakfast at Famous’ deli every once in a while. You can watch Joe’s segment covering the protest here. You won’t see me — Chew and I were off camera, gritting our teeth because the crowd could only come up with a weak ”WE WANT OUR M-TV” chant. Embarassing.