Politicians Ponder the Writers' Strike

Posted on November 8, 2007

We are now in the fourth day of the Writers' Strike, which shows no sign of ending anytime soon. The Writers Guild of America ("WGA") is striking after negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers ("AMPTP") failed at the last minute. For the television viewers, this means that their favorite scripted shows - dramas, comedies and the like - are all about to go off the air, along with all the talk shows. If the strike runs as long as the last time eighteen years ago, the studios stand to lose $1 billion. Yet for some reason the media conglomerates are being obstinate, refusing to give writers even a tiny share of the residuals for shows that are shown in digital format, such as those that are downloadable on the Internet or cellphones.

In the old days, studios had staff writers and actors under contract. They got a salary, benefits and worked on whatever the studio told them to. Under the current system, writers are hired on a contract basis with no benefits or job security. At any one time 49% of the WGA writers are unemployed. Currently, the writers get no residuals at all from television shows that are shown online in their entirety, even if there is a commercial embedded into it. DVDs are going away and the writers want to make sure they get their tiny percentage (and, believe me, it is tiny) on the new media that will replace DVDs. The studios won't pay; hence, the strike. For the writers, it's do or die time. If they don't get paid on new media in the future, they will have no future when all media goes digital.

Enter the politicians. Bill Clinton reportedly is interested in brokering a deal before the economic repercussions to all parties becomes devastating. The Mayor of Los Angeles has offered to mediate, but the AMPTP turned him down flat. Governor Schwarzenegger has a vested interest in solving the strike, before the situation costs California millions of dollars in tax revenue. So far, the Governor hasn't done anything but make a few phone calls and at least one inaccurate statement -- that the writers who are striking are rich. They're not. In fact, it couldn't be further from the truth. For every Tim Kring (Heroes) or Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly), there are ten writers who go long stretches of time without a paycheck, writing scripts on spec, making about $5,000 a year, on average. It's a tough business.

The future is digital and the writers must be paid. Otherwise, there will be no quality scripted dramas, comedies or amusing monologues by Leno or Letterman.