Party Politics and the Writer’s Strike
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Daytime, Prime Time, Specials, Talk Shows, ABC, CBS, 24, Desperate Housewives, House, News,
This is how it works. The Writer’s Guild of America has gone on strike. For most of us, this means that shows like House, 24, Desperate Housewives and a whole host of others won’t be on the air. But the writer’s strike has a bigger effect, and not just on our TV watching. Not only will this strike begin to effect the economy, but now it’s affecting the future of our nation. Because when party politics mixes with a writer’s strike, no one gets to benefit.
Let’s talk about Democrats. Support for unions is one of the bedrocks of the Democratic party – in fact, no self-respecting Democratic politician would ever be seen crossing a picket line. And right now, there are plenty of picket lines in front of TV studios. How does it affect you? If you’ve been looking forward to another Democratic primary Presidential debate (and there’s one scheduled December 10), you may wind up disappointed. Hosted by CBS News, this particular debate was scheduled many months in advance. But the Democratic contenders who will appear in the debate absolutely will not cross a picket line. That’s party politics.
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Hollywood Reporter
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The Price of Striking Writers
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Comedy, Daytime, Drama, Late Night, Mini Series, Prime Time, News,
The writer’s strike is still going strong, though new negotiations are scheduled to begin next week. That’s a really good thing, too, considering how expensive all these picket lines are getting. If the strike continues into next month, it’s projected that LA will lose $20 million – per day. It won’t just affect our TV watching and give a real boost to reality shows, it will actually hurt the economy of the entertainment-based city.
For those who forgot, the disputing writer’s guild wants to split more revenue with the Alliance of Producers, who don’t want to give it up. That’s what’s been keeping the picket lines going. The last strike, by the way, lasted 22 weeks and cost right around $500 million, all told.
LA Times
Daytime TV Hosts Forging Past Picket Lines
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Daytime, Talk Shows, Syndication, Oprah Winfrey Show, Gossip, News,
The writers’ strike is still raging on, but several notable daytime TV hosts don’t seem to care. At least, they are walking through the picket lines to continue with their work. The writers’ guild has publicly rebuked Ellen DeGeneres for these actions, though she is not the only host to walk past the strikers. Oprah Winfrey and Rachael Ray are also keeping their shows going, so The Ellen DeGeneres Show still has some ratings competition.
Ellen has canceled some New York shows, but her studio in LA remains open. DeGeneres says she’s remaining open to support her staff, as a mind-boggling 135 individuals depend upon her show’s production to keep their own paychecks coming. Her actions, however, and the actions of other daytime hosts, are not endearing to striking writers.
AOL News
Alternatives For Late Night TV
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Late Night, Reality, Talk Shows, Cable, FX, MTV, Editorial,
It’s only been a full work week since Hollywood’s writers went on strike, and already it seems the days of great late night talk programs are long gone. The last time the writer’s guild went on strike, it lasted an agonizingly long 22 weeks. Without Colbert, Stewart, Letterman and Leno, how is American supposed to get its satirical, tongue-in-cheek twists on current events?
With a shortage of new scripts and a hiatus of many major shows, more Americans are now channel-surfing to find an entertainment fix. What they’ll find is a mishmash of reality TV - those wonderfully unscripted programs that are always there in the event of a script shortage. Channels like Travel, Discovery, Animal Planet and the Food Network are largely unaffected by the strike, though how MTV (and channels like it) will continue with their staged reality programs is anyone’s guess.
Instead of watching repeats on network TV, turn to these cable channels as the midnight hour approaches. Animal Planet, the Discovery Channel, E!, FX, The History Channel, and VH1 are among those still offering brand-new episodes. It’s better than re-runs.
MSNBC
Writers on Strike: Impact on ‘Scrubs’
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Late Night, Prime Time, Talk Shows, NBC, Scrubs, Rumors,
Yep, the Writers Guild of America strike is underway and that means plenty of casualties like late-night talk shows and Saturday Night Live. Most shows have filmed episodes weeks in advance, so we should continue to see new episodes into January, but I suddenly panicked when I thought about Scrubs, which got a late start to the season. Scrubs has seen its fair share of misses and it’s a wonder the series has even survived seven years, given the constant switcheroo on the schedule. In fact, it’s faced near cancellation more than once. So, with a strike for who-knows-how-long, what is the fate of the comedy, now in its final season? The prognosis isn’t great—the last six eps of the series could be hanging in the balance. Bill Lawrence, the creator and exec producer said, “On a personal level, yeah, it would be nice to finish work on Scrubs the way I wanted to. That it looks like it’s not happening is certainly disappointing, I can’t lie. But it’s also not the end of the world.” He’s got his heart in the right place—with the writers: “What I care about more than anything right now is getting this thing settled so it’s either a short strike or no strike.” Right now there are two scripts written, so Scrubs will make it to episode 12… but the strike could have fans in misery over the final six episodes.
Yahoo! News
Writers Strike Begins
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Daytime, Late Night, News,
It’s official – the Writers Guild has gone on strike after negotiations with the Alliance of Producers failed. Picketers will make their stance in New York City and Los Angeles until a deal can be reached. Writers are demanding more revenue from DVD sales, but the producers refuse to give in. Late night talk shows will be the first to stop airing new episodes, as these programs remain very current in news and events. Daytime TV, which tapes about a week’s worth of shows in advance, will be the next casualty of the strike. Most studios have dozens of scripts stockpiled for favorite TV series and new movies, enough to last until early next year. The strike may set a precedent for the Screen Actors Guild, as contracts are scheduled to run out next June.
Yahoo News
Late Night Repeats for Writer-less Talk Shows
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Daytime, Late Night, Talk Shows, ABC, Cable, NBC, Syndication, General Hospital, Saturday Night Live, News,
If the Writers Guild of America strikes on Monday as scheduled, you can expect a slate of late-night reruns to put you to bed. Assuming a last-minute Sunday mediation session doesn’t prevent the 12,000 WGA members from walking out, daily productions ranging from The Colbert Report to Late Night with Conan O’Brien will immediately go into repeats. So much for November sweeps.
The impact will not necessarily be limited to evening fare; daytime chatfests like The Ellen Degeneres Show may be affected as well. Fortunately soap operas like my fave, General Hospital, have stockpiled scripts that should leave them immune for months to come.
Tonight’s Saturday Night Live with Brian Williams could also be the last Lorne Michaels production for some time. But given SNL’s lame tendency to air repeats anyway, who’d even notice?
Hollywood Reporter
No Agreement Yet Between Writers and Producers
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Reality, Syndication, News,
Despite a federal mediator and plenty of bargaining sessions, the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers failed to come to terms on a new three-year contract. Talks ended after several not-so-fruitful hours, three hundred and sixty minutes before the current contract expired. The writers and producers are stymied over one central issue: the pay writers receive when work is released on DVD. DVD sales are huge, and have been since the discovery that people will actually pay to own episodes of television shows they watched the first time they aired. Even syndication hasn’t hurt the DVD sales of old TV episodes, and the writers want their cut. Well, the producers don’t want to give it to them. That, in a nutshell, is what all this strike talk is about.
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LA Times (Registration Required)
Is a Writer’s Strike Imminent?
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Reality, American Idol, Gossip, News,
It’s been making headlines for months as negotiations continue to drag, but that doesn’t mean the bomb has been completely defused. In fact, it’s ticking louder than ever before. The union representing TV and film writers (the Writers Guild of America) is currently trying to work a deal with the networks and studios (the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers)—unfortunately, things aren’t going well.
Back in 1988 during the famous writers’ walkout, the entertainment industry lost an estimated $500 million when writers refused to produce scripts. Today? A strike would be even more damaging. The current issues up for debate include splitting revenues for new media, and whether reality shows should be unionized. The guild could call for a strike as early as November 1, which would really put a damper on the fall season…and even the mid-season, if things aren’t worked out. As a result, studios have moved up production schedules to shoot as many new episodes as possible, before any work has to stop. Extra script orders are coming in…which isn’t making it any easier for the possibly-striking writers. The good news is that reality shows don’t use writers (at least, that’s the official story), so fan favorites like American Idol should be safe from the threat…but that also means the mid-season could be crammed with reality and re-runs…and not a whole lot more.
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