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Writers Vote to End Strike
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Television writers return to work this week. Shows will return soon, but perhaps too late to recapture all of their audience.
30-Second Summary
Television junkies can rejoice. Members of the Writers Guild of America voted overwhelmingly to go back to work immediately this week. Writers and the studios were able to iron out their differences with regard to compensation for shows watched and sold on the Internet.
This strike did not break the record for the guild’s longest. The one in 1988, which lasted for five months, still holds that record.
Though the writers are going back to work, and some show creators have pledged to work around the clock, only a few new shows are expected to air this month. The shows that have been stalled will probably return in April.
The strike’s end means thousands of people in other parts of television production and ancillary industries can return to work, too. Officials estimated that workers in Los Angeles lost more than $2 billion in wages during the strike.
Other union leaders welcomed the end of the strike. Michael Apted, head of the Directors Guild of America, said, “The last three months have been painful ones for tens of thousands of working people in and around the entertainment industry, and like everyone else, our members are now eager to get back to work.”
But the strike has lingering effects and raises the question of how many viewers will return and what will happen to the glitzy May network ritual known as the upfront.
This strike did not break the record for the guild’s longest. The one in 1988, which lasted for five months, still holds that record.
Though the writers are going back to work, and some show creators have pledged to work around the clock, only a few new shows are expected to air this month. The shows that have been stalled will probably return in April.
The strike’s end means thousands of people in other parts of television production and ancillary industries can return to work, too. Officials estimated that workers in Los Angeles lost more than $2 billion in wages during the strike.
Other union leaders welcomed the end of the strike. Michael Apted, head of the Directors Guild of America, said, “The last three months have been painful ones for tens of thousands of working people in and around the entertainment industry, and like everyone else, our members are now eager to get back to work.”
But the strike has lingering effects and raises the question of how many viewers will return and what will happen to the glitzy May network ritual known as the upfront.
Headline Links: ‘Hollywood Writers Vote to Lift 14-Week Strike’
Nearly 93 percent of Writers Guild members voted to go back to work, and are expected to return immediately, according to Reuters. The writers stopped working in early November, and the strike was called the worst in Hollywood in two decades. When production screeched to a halt, all sorts of businesses, including caterers and limousine services, lost money.
Source: Reuters
“Saturday Night Live” is expected to be the first new, post-strike show aired on television, but that won’t be until Feb. 23, according to The New York Times. New episodes of shows such as “The Office” and “Two and a Half Men” aren’t expected until mid-April. The strike forced some shows to throw out scripts or entire story lines.
Source: The New York Times
Opinion: Other unions, cartoonists weigh in
Variety’s blog, Scribe Vibe, is cataloging responses to the strike’s end. The president of the Service Employees International Union, Andy Stern, said in a statement posted on the blog that the guild “has shown us that when workers stand united and unions demonstrate leadership and courage, we all win.”
Source: Scribe Vibe, Variety
Slate has nearly two dozen cartoons that chronicle the writer’s strike and its rippling effects. David Letterman, John Stewart, Jay Leno, studio executives, writers, and the viewing public are all subjects.
Source: Slate
Related Topics: Effects of the strike
During three month of reruns, other forms of entertainment, such as online gaming and DVDs, saw audiences increase. Though no one can be certain those developments are due to the strike, experts wonder how many people will return to television, given the other options available.
Source: Los Angeles Times
At one network, a casualty of the strike may be the annual splash known in the industry as the “upfront.” This event, held by the networks in May, rolls out stars, new shows, and is designed to entice advertisers into buying commercial time for the fall. NBC may be scaling its back or get rid of it altogether, according to the New York Post. Other networks don’t seem to be ready to get rid of their upfront, but it is possible changes could be made.
Source: The New York Post
Historical Context: 1988 strike was longer
In 1988, writers were on strike for five months, and the big issue then was how much they were paid when hour-long shows were sold in syndication. Writers Guild members were on strike this time for about three and a half months. In the most recently ended strike, the major issue was how writers would be compensated for shows watched or sold via the Internet.
Source: The New York Times
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