Writers Strike Response – Drum Roll Please, and the 2008 Oscar goes to…

So, the Writers Strike has resulted in an 1.5 billion dollar loss in Los Angeles area alone, and even more money is at stake with no clear answer to whether the show, specifically the Oscar, will still go on.

At the heart of this long lasted feud are three major issues: DVD residuals; union jurisdiction over animation and reality program writers; and compensation for "new media"—content written for the Internet. In more simple terms, ‘who gets the money?’ issue. With the nation’s most prominent writers like John Wells at the front of the picket line, I personally cannot be any less sympathetic for two reasons; they must have millions and millions of dollars already, do they really need more dough? Plus, I don’t even watch TV anymore!

Surprisingly, I am not alone. According to the SurveyUSA poll result, the 75% of respondents were found to have little to no concern over the strike, and the USA TODAY poll shows that 49% of the viewers said they were more likely to watch reruns, 40% said they planned to watch reality series and other programming not disrupted by the strike, and 26% were more likely to buy or rent DVDs of television series from past seasons. These not-so-empathetic poll results almost makes me wonder, ‘is the era when the Sunday paper’s TV guide was the new American Bible finally coming to an end?

Of course, the writers must fight for their rights, and of course, they should be compensated fairly for all their hard work which requires a lot of hair-pulling, energy drinks, and no sleep. But, is this really working? Will the 11 weeks of struggle be in vain? It is definitely a close competition between the Writers and the Producers, and the winner is soon to be announced. Now drum roll, please, and the 2008 Oscar goes to…


Related Links:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/23/business/media/23strike.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=writers++guild&st=nyt&oref=slogin

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2007-12-18-strike-poll_N.htm

http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReportEmail.aspx?g=bbb91c3a-2bf2-4ef4-a009-e588fef04ed2