DEAR SUN SPOTS: I enjoy reading the Sun Spots every day. Keep up the good work!

When people appear on “Oprah” or “Dr. Phil” and other similar shows, do they get paid?

We have upgraded our computer and got a laptop. Do you know of a person or organization that will take or need our old computer?

What happened to Tom Chisholm, the weatherman on Channel 8? He came back for a short time after his accident, and then he was gone again. — Pauline Dupre, Lewiston

ANSWER: According to various online sources, whether someone gets paid for appearing on a talk show depends on who they are and the purpose for their appearance, but even those who do get paid it’s usually only a nominal amount.

Actors who belong to the Screen Actors Guild are usually paid “scale,” the base rate of pay for any actor appearing on television. This varies, but most online sources indicated it would be about $400 or $500, although one site said it was as high as $800. In general, the actors appear for publicity reasons, such as to promote a new movie, rather than for any monetary gain.

Those individuals who are participants in a news story are generally not paid, as that would be considered paying a source for information, a violation of journalistic ethics.

Legal, medical and military experts are probably paid a stipend, but authors and celebrities of the moment are generally not paid, as they are getting something out of the appearance — such as publicity for their book. But sought-after individuals may be lured onto a show with gifts, and reimbursement for expenses such as travel, hotel and a per diem for meals is typical.

The Sun Journal’s chief photographer, Russ Dillingham, appeared on just such a show after he tackled a fleeing perpetrator while on the job. Russ said that while CNN’s “American Morning with John Roberts” did reimburse some of his expenses, after paying for cab rides and meals and buying trinkets for his kids, he actually lost some money.

“But it was worth every penny,” Russ said. “Believe it or not, I don’t go a week without meeting somebody for the first time that mentions it still — even four years later.”

 As for your old computer, you have a couple of options. Students at the Lewiston Regional Technical Center at Lewiston High School fix up old computers and donate them to needy families at Longley Elementary School. Teacher Crystal Morris said students can upgrade the computers if they run Windows 98 or a newer operating system. Morris said that anything older than a Windows 98 machine is really too old. To contact Morris, call 795-4144, ext. 2334, or e-mail cmorris@lewistonpublicschools.org.

There are also some sites online where you can donate computers to charity, including www.computerswithcauses.org and www.recycles.org.

As for Tom Chisholm, Sun Spots happened to be watching when Tom gave his final weather report and the announcement was made that he was leaving. There was no explanation of why or what he would be doing next, only that he was resigning. Sun Spots did not find any further explanation online either.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I was wondering what happened to Tom Chisholm from Channel 8 news? He has been out for several weeks now, as Roger Griswold is taking his place. We really miss him. Perhaps he is out for medical problems again? Where could we send him a card? Thank you. — No Name, Chesterville

ANSWER: See the previous letter for an explanation of Tom’s departure. Sun Spots does not know if he has additional medical issues or where you could write him.

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