Is the Strike a Good Thing?

Firstly, the writers deserve a cut of any internet profits. Networks seem hesitant to commit to anything and i imagine one of the reasons is because with this new technology (the internet, TiVo, downloading, etc.), Networks aren't sure how to produce significant revenue streams. I mean, shows on NBC barely have any commercials and while other networks have worked commercials into their streams, the advertising just doesn't carry over as well when you can fast forward through commercials, or leave the computer during the 30 second commercial without fear that you'll miss the show when it comes back, because you have to click continue for that to happen. I imagine advertisers are far less willing to pay the big bucks for shows that stream online.

While i do think the writers deserve to make royalties based on shows that play on these new (and yet undefined) mediums, i think the writers guild acted too soon with the strike. They should have waited for the networks to define their revenue streams with regard to these mediums. To avoid getting screwed, writers need to have something in the contract that covers new methods of obtaining profit which haven't yet been discovered on the internet.

On a side note, do you think this is good or bad overall? Aside from what they deserve or what they don't deserve, what sort of impact will this have on a society that seems so dependent on television. If you like reality shows, then you're in luck. They don't need writers so i imagine there will be a slew of them from here until January of 2009 when the writers are looking to get back on track. CBS is already scrambling to get together another season of Big Brother (the last season ended just a couple of months ago). We can look forward to a lot of celebrity-focused reality content on television since most tv actors will be out of work.

Will the television audience pull away from from reality television and the other choices networks scramble to implement? With the primaries just around the corner and one year until the General Election, will people become more interested in politics than normal? How will this influence the outcome?

Just a few thoughts.

I think the whole thing is ridiculous. Do you get paid several times for doing a job once? I don't think anybody should be paid royalties. Do a job, get paid for it, and quit your griping already!