From today’s LA Times:
By eliminating the (writers’ contracts) deals now, the studios will no longer be obligated to pay the writers even if the strike ends in the next month or two. The action saves the media companies tens of millions of dollars in payments…
This makes it even more apparent that the network studio executives are trying to starve out the writers, and potentially the entire entertainment industry. At this point, they’re basically saying, “Screw y’all, We will not take pay cuts, We will not adjust your contracts to share some of the billions of ad revenue and DVD sales revenue that We are collecting left and right. We will hide behind our American Idol and our Dancing with the Stars and We will cater to the dumbest parts of our audience’s psyche, at the expense of all the writers for all the TV shows and all the movies. Neeener Neener Neener! Pffft!”
Meanwhile, Chrysler’s marketing chief is quoted in Bloomberg as saying, “…the biggest thing we’ve noticed about the strike is that nobody is talking about it...” Well, the fact that you and I will not see whole lot of coverage, especially from the writers’ POV, on your mainstream news channel or newspaper couldn’t be in any way related to the fact that the news media is owned by the same conglomerates who have tentacles inside the AMPTP, could it?
Interestingly, even though SAG and AFTRA and virtually all their member actors and artists have been active and vocal in their solidarity for the WGA writers, both of the aforementioned unions are bound by “no strike” clauses in their contracts with the AMPTP (cushy, huh?). Makes you wonder, what is the point of having a union if you can’t strike against your wage-masters when they are being unfair to you and your colleagues?
In the meantime, more interim deals are being signed, this time between the WGA and Spyglass Entertainment &Media Rights Capital. This is just further proof, after David Letterman successfully negotiated a deal with the WGA, that the writers’ demands are not as extreme, outrageous or unreasonable as the AMPTP is whining about.
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are back on air without their writers as well. This has its pros and cons: the good thing is that they are among the very few voices on traditional media who are (in their own whacky ways) cheering for the writers. The question that arises though, is whether them running their popular shows on a Viacom station is actually hurting the WGA’s cause by allowing network execs to rake in the cash these two shows are generating, despite the ongoing negotiations. It’s a fine line and frankly, even though I personally adore both shows, I don’t know which way the Stewart/Colbert duplex pendulum will ultimately swing. From that New University article:
Stewart and Colbert may be unsure, but their conservative critics are anything but ambivalent. “They serve as a branch of the Democratic Party,” said a user with the screen name “iveseenitall” on the conservative media criticism Web site NewsBusters.com. “They are immature jerks … constantly and overwhelmingly making one party the butt of jokes divides the nation.” Thomas Jefferson described constant critique of prevailing policy as “eternal vigilance.” Iveseenitall calls it “immature jerk[iness].” Attention all archconservatives: The truth hurts, but the “truthiness” will set you free.
As for the precious internet ad revenue that the AMPTP keeps saying is not significant enough to share with the writers of the very shows that are placed online, one must ask why it is that from the other side of their mouth, media giants do things like sue YouTube for $1 Billion dollars, or cut deals with the Microsoft ad network. If there’s no money in online media, why is the internet ad industry booming, and why are industry experts saying that online ad spending is expected to double in the next 3 years? Specifically:
“I think we’re going to see some of the largest growth in video ads on televisions stations’ Web sites,” (eMarketer’s David Hallerman) said.
The only thing for sure is that writers are the lifeblood of any entertainment. Reality TV shows get old really fast, they don’t survive in reruns and they can’t be sold too well on DVD or syndication. Without shows like The Office, Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy, 30 Rock, Heroes, and of course, Battlestar Galactica, as well as others, the networks are looking at taking huge losses resulting from an increasingly disenfranchised audience that is turning off their TV sets and doing other things, like reading, or going outside, or having sex, or even (gasp!) blogging about these unscripted theatrics. Talk about stupid Reality Shows….
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