tasty blog snack

Thank you for sharing this. I will put a link from my site to help spread the word.

I was preparing to go see an old friend perform her stand-up tonight when she had to cancel the show and the remainder of her comedy tour because the producers of the series she appears on relayed to return to work immediately. I believe excellent agreement news is forthcoming… let’s hope it sticks this time.

Thank you for sharing this - I share your sentiments on the issue, and where would we be without the writers, anyway? I mean, do we honestly want the production companies hiring writers from foreign, third-world countries like every other company in the US? I don’t think so.

I’m no longer a slave to the boob tube. Reading what you bloggers produce is much more entertaining. So the strike doesn’t impact me, so long as Gary V. doesn’t hire a writer for his wine reviews.
That being said, I agree that the writers should get paid for their product no matter what type of media it is delivered with/on.

I totally understand what the writers are asking for, and they deserve it. The big movie studios are doing as much as they can to squeeze every little penny out of them so that the bottom line looks good to the shareholders…and to finance the legal battle against the people that are consuming the content that they’re producing. Seriously, if online content is not worth anything they why the lawsuits? If it’s worthless, then let us bittorrent everything! It’d sure save me the monthly subscription fees for a TIVO that way.

Now, I’m a production guy in local television, so I have to say let’s also not forget about the countless amount of production people this is effecting. I’ve read that NBC is prepared lay off all the non-writing staff (camera operators, control room staff, etc.) who work on Leno and Conan in the coming weeks, though, I believe they’ve gotten at least a two week stay and I’ve heard that David Letterman will be paying his staff “some amount” out of his own pocket (1). And, as far as I’ve heard, the production staff doesn’t get a back-end cut like the writers and producers do, so what are they going to live off of? Although, most of them are also union, so I’m hoping their respective unions take care of them.

Anyway… I’m just hoping this is fixed soon. I’m dreading what a prolonged strike could do to television viewership…the viewership that pays the bills of people like me who’re in TV at the local level. We’re already losing eyes on the local newscasts, unfortunately, this could drive many more of those away.

-Adam

1. Broadcasting & Cable - “NBC Late-Nighters Won’t Be Laid Off at End of Week” - Nov. 15, 2007 - http://tinyurl.com/2jnx4l

p.s. the YouTube videos keep telling me “no longer available” when I try to play them, however, if you copy / paste the URL (hit menu on the player) into Firefox they’ll play just fine.

I absolutely support the writers. They are showing just how critical their role is in the entertainment business, and they deserve a bigger piece of the action. Furthermore, I hope this leads at least some of them to join the growing number of people who are producing quality online content.

“Leave, the companies! Alone!”

Naw, I’m Kidding. These writers are the only people who make these shows what they are from the start. Without them, the things everyone love are nothing. They are under-credited and underpaid, so power to them and I hope everything turns out great. Thats right, “Power to the writers”

Bought one box of pencils for every member of my family (5).