My thoughts on the Writer's Strike

Without a doubt you’ve heard about the WGA strike (now ending week two). Things have been tough for TV lately, as our late night favorites went into immediate hiatus and most scripted shows found themselves with only a handful of unaired shows. For a full explanation, check out this video made by the WGA, which explains why they’re striking and what they want from it.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=oJ55Ir2jCxk

None of the WGA demands sound unreasonable:

A measly eight cents per DVD sold, whether it is a percentage of the total price or a flat rate I don’t know. It is double their current rate, but still 60% of their old rate they agreed to cut to keep the video market alive in its early days with the promise of having it restored when it became viable. Since DVD is a multi-billion dollar business, including a huge market for complete seasons of hit shows, this self-imposed cut is no longer necessary. The fact that they aren’t going for the full 20 cents shows a degree of compromise.

Royalties for each download/stream a show gets. Whether a viewer pays to download a series off iTunes or Unbox or watches it for free on a network site with commercials put in, the network is making money off this venture, especially since it cuts the costs of manufacturing and shipping, all they need is to maintain server space. The fact that none of it goes towards those who made it is just awful. Saying these are “promotional use only”, justifying the lack of payment, doesn’t make any sense and makes the studios look greedy, finding whatever loophole they can to keep as much as possible. Considering the growing importance of internet use in television, giving the writers a cut seems like the right move to keep their livelihoods intact.

This one has garnered some controversy. In some instances, executives touted the new technology as new sources of revenue. NBC, in the stupidest non-strike related action of the season, pulled out of iTunes because in part they wanted a bigger share of the profits they were getting, even going so far as to ask for a cut in iPod sales. However, when it comes to paying the writers, the networks act as if they’re old people and don’t know anything about some dang ol’ picture radio internets tubes. This is likely saber rattling from the writers, much like the networks threatening to sue showrunners who are picketing. It’s unlikely that this would spiral out of control into the executives being investigated for misleading investors.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=RjGbHHtbZP0

While it’s easy to support the writer’s now, it’s going to be a lot harder should this strike go on for more than a few weeks. If this is the case, then most series will prematurely end their seasons. “The Office” just aired its last produced episode, with teases that the episode they were about to shoot being the funniest of the season. This could be a disaster for serialized series like “24”, which has been postponed indefinitely until it can air all its episodes without a break, and “Lost”, which finds its recent 3 seasons of 16 episodes each plan in serious danger of collapsing altogether. “Heroes” is trying to accommodate the strike by recrafting their strike finale as a season finale should the second half of the season never come to fruition in time for the end of the 07-08 season.

Regardless, most shows only have a dozen episodes in the can, leaving most series over before they go on Christmas hiatus. The midseason replacements aren’t going to save the season either, with “24’s” hiatus and other shows having produced less than what those on the air have. So the big holes in the spring schedule will be filled with reality shows. Of course for every “Amazing Race”, we’re going to have 10 “Bachelors”. “American Idol” will likely keep Fox afloat, and they are the most shameless of the networks, ahead of NBC, regarding reality show programming (“COPS” was the produce of the last strike).

It also spells doom for the pilot season in the spring. With no scripts being written, there will be no pilots to make. This, coupled with the inevitable cancellations and series endings from the spring, means even more holes in the schedule. Not only could this strike ruin this season, but possibly ruin next season before even a second of footage is shot. It may give on the bubble new shows a reprieve should the networks need slots.

If any good is to come out of the strike’s effects, one would hope it would be the end of the standard September-May model, which is painfully outdated. The pressure of serialized shows to fit their episodes into the schedule as if it was a normal season is unreasonable. This isn’t an ordinary season. Besides, fans of “24” and “Lost” would stick with the show if it were to go into June or later.

As this goes online, news has broke about a sit down between the writers and producers on Monday November 26^th. This is encouraging news, as many have cited the last strike, which lasted five months, as a possible example of how this strike will play out. Relations between the writers and producers have been at best tense. The writers want us to believe that the producers are being greedy and the producers want us to think that all writers are super rich and only want another golden bathtub filled with Cristal and they don’t care about the crew that’s out of work (the execs tend to ignore that many of those people support the strike). With something like that, it makes sense that neither would be willing to give in to the others’ demands without a fight.

While the media has painted the writers as pampered rich people who are just striking to be jerks, that isn’t the case. For every writer who will never have to worry about work, there are dozens that are just trying to get their screenplay picked up or a job writing on television. It can be easy for us to say that since their job is fun they should just shut up and take whatever the studios give them. I’d agree that screenwriting is far more fun than a typical blue collar job, but it’s still a job. It’s their livelihood. If it takes them years before getting another piece of their work published, why not give them a fair shake of residuals so they can live comfortably in between jobs? Every time a “Harry Potter” novel is sold, JK Rowling gets a cut. Bob Dylan gets paid anytime a song he wrote is played on the radio or used elsewhere. Why can’t the writers get a fair piece for the work they helped create when it’s used in any format?