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Hopefully, most of you who watch television are aware of the writers strikes that have been going on. Tons of shows have been affected. To name a few: The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Lost, The Office, 24, the late nights (Connan, Leno, Letterman, etc.),Desperate Housewives, SNL, Scrubs.
Depending on how long these strikes go on for, it can be weeks to months before we ever get to see new episodes of our favorite shows. “Awww…but from where will I get my worldly view of current events (with a sarcastic twist), if I can’t watch John Stewart make faces while he squirms in his chair?” Thankfully, most movie studios have loads of unread scripts stacked in their closets, meaning they can pump out tired storylines for the next year or two. Yay!
If you’re still lost about what’s going on, I’ll give you the lowdown. Essentially, writers want to get paid for what they write. With the emergence of the internet and webcasts of tv programs, along with the staggering growth of DVD sales, writer’s are shutout from making a single cent on what is being deemed “new technology,” the internet and to a different degree, DVDs (the DVD demands are to better the poor, barely livable residuals that writers get now). But watch or download—the legal way, of course—any episode or season of your favorite show, and you come to find that it’s not free of advertisement or (monetary) cost to those that watch.
Still lost? John Stewart can pragmatically explain:
If the AMPTP remains steadfast in their reluctance to meet the writers’ demands, they’re looking at losing hundreds of millions of dollars in a very short time. For my television craving’s sake, let’s hope the strike doesn’t bleed into ‘08.
