2008 Woodie Awards
"What do we want?"
Creative minds, television shows suffer with continuing strike
Benjamin Harris
Issue date: 1/14/08 Section: Opinions
The continuing saga of the struggle for labor to set its own terms is currently flaring up in the public view once again. The Writers Guild of America announced a film and television writer's strike that began on November 5, 2007. Many members of the Screen Actors Guild are acting in solidarity as well.
According to the WGA, the most important dispute revolves around sharing of revenue generated in new media such as the Internet from advertising associated with intellectual property created by the striking writers.
One unfortunate consequence of the continuing strike has been the loss of work for thousands of people that work behind the scenes in the industry.
The trend has been towards reduced power in collective bargaining and I am afraid this situation will fall in with that. As the influence of creative thinking is diminished, so is the bargaining power of the writers. At one time topical television shows like "Star Trek" imagined a hopeful future where people of different ethnicities viewed each others as partners in an effort to better humanity. "M*A*S*H" offered commentary on war policy. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" lightheartedly examined the challenges faced by women capitalizing on diversifying professional opportunities. "All in the Family" highlighted the cultural diversity in America. Now those were the days, as far as the creative influence is concerned.
The last strike of this kind was in 1988 and lasted almost 22 weeks. It was very damaging to the industry. However, since then the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has apparently adapted to become less reliant on the writers to get their product out. Daytime television is one court television show after another. Trash talk shows like "Jerry Springer" are all the rage. After the success of "American Idol", a host of copycats has plagued the airwaves. Donald Trump's moronic "The Apprentice" had spawned its own breed of mind-numbing drivel. And let's not forget game shows. Game shows have weaseled their way from morning filler to prime time. There is an onslaught of so-called reality television programming and the viewing audience is eating it up. The networks are banking that people will watch any garbage that is thrown their way. I, for one, was glad to see an advertisement for "Celebrity Rehab" so I could make a special effort to miss it. All this does not bode well for the bargaining power of creative people.
According to the WGA, the most important dispute revolves around sharing of revenue generated in new media such as the Internet from advertising associated with intellectual property created by the striking writers.
One unfortunate consequence of the continuing strike has been the loss of work for thousands of people that work behind the scenes in the industry.
The trend has been towards reduced power in collective bargaining and I am afraid this situation will fall in with that. As the influence of creative thinking is diminished, so is the bargaining power of the writers. At one time topical television shows like "Star Trek" imagined a hopeful future where people of different ethnicities viewed each others as partners in an effort to better humanity. "M*A*S*H" offered commentary on war policy. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" lightheartedly examined the challenges faced by women capitalizing on diversifying professional opportunities. "All in the Family" highlighted the cultural diversity in America. Now those were the days, as far as the creative influence is concerned.
The last strike of this kind was in 1988 and lasted almost 22 weeks. It was very damaging to the industry. However, since then the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has apparently adapted to become less reliant on the writers to get their product out. Daytime television is one court television show after another. Trash talk shows like "Jerry Springer" are all the rage. After the success of "American Idol", a host of copycats has plagued the airwaves. Donald Trump's moronic "The Apprentice" had spawned its own breed of mind-numbing drivel. And let's not forget game shows. Game shows have weaseled their way from morning filler to prime time. There is an onslaught of so-called reality television programming and the viewing audience is eating it up. The networks are banking that people will watch any garbage that is thrown their way. I, for one, was glad to see an advertisement for "Celebrity Rehab" so I could make a special effort to miss it. All this does not bode well for the bargaining power of creative people.
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