Passing it along...

Passing this along from derry667



Details at the link (click on banner).

The concessions that the WGA writers are asking for are not that much -- a slightly higher percentage of DVD receipts, and minor royalties off new media like Internet downloads. I don't want to downplay the contributions of all the other people involved in the production of a TV show, and perhaps this is just my inner writer talking, but I really see the writing staff as the backbone of TV and movies; without them, there are no stories.

If the networks can whip up a bunch of unscripted reality TV to replace the scripted shows, and if the fans are willing to accept that and watch the cheaply produced reality shows in place of well-written, carefully plotted shows like SPN, everyone loses -- the TV writers and the fans.

A lot of people don't watch reality TV anyway (and I'm one of them). But for those on the fence, the very least we can do to encourage a quick end to the strike and to get our favorite shows back into production is to show the networks that we aren't willing to accept cheap substitutes. We want our shows back and we shouldn't settle for anything less.

Passing it along...

Passing this along from derry667



Details at the link (click on banner).

The concessions that the WGA writers are asking for are not that much -- a slightly higher percentage of DVD receipts, and minor royalties off new media like Internet downloads. I don't want to downplay the contributions of all the other people involved in the production of a TV show, and perhaps this is just my inner writer talking, but I really see the writing staff as the backbone of TV and movies; without them, there are no stories.

If the networks can whip up a bunch of unscripted reality TV to replace the scripted shows, and if the fans are willing to accept that and watch the cheaply produced reality shows in place of well-written, carefully plotted shows like SPN, everyone loses -- the TV writers and the fans.

A lot of people don't watch reality TV anyway (and I'm one of them). But for those on the fence, the very least we can do to encourage a quick end to the strike and to get our favorite shows back into production is to show the networks that we aren't willing to accept cheap substitutes. We want our shows back and we shouldn't settle for anything less.

More on the WGA strike

Something that occurred to me, discussing the whole WGA thing with Derry, is that I really didn't mean to frame the previous post as a hatefest on reality shows. I can't deny that I'm not the most unbiased person; I don't like them and I'd really rather see scripted shows on TV instead. It's always easier to ask someone else to make the sacrifice, I know! But it wouldn't matter if the networks were filling the airwaves with British comedies or anime or documentaries instead; the point is not "reality TV bad, scripted shows good", but rather that corporate execs are attempting to do an end-run around the WGA and, rather than negotiating, to simply fill the airwaves with new content -- taking away the union's one source of power vs. the networks.

Believe me, I sympathize with the reality show hate; really, I do. But putting it in those simplistic terms, of which I'm totally guilty, shifts the blame onto the reality shows and off where it really belongs -- the networks who would rather come up with new programming than concede to the WGA's very reasonable demands. And I would imagine that it makes reality-TV fans feel like they're being attacked (which, hopefully, isn't the case) and make them even less likely to sympathize with the aims of the WGA and their supportive fans. It really shouldn't need to turn into an "us" vs. "them" issue between the fans, when the real issue at hand is the networks' behavior. And I shouldn't have presented it that way.

More on the WGA strike

Something that occurred to me, discussing the whole WGA thing with Derry, is that I really didn't mean to frame the previous post as a hatefest on reality shows. I can't deny that I'm not the most unbiased person; I don't like them and I'd really rather see scripted shows on TV instead. It's always easier to ask someone else to make the sacrifice, I know! But it wouldn't matter if the networks were filling the airwaves with British comedies or anime or documentaries instead; the point is not "reality TV bad, scripted shows good", but rather that corporate execs are attempting to do an end-run around the WGA and, rather than negotiating, to simply fill the airwaves with new content -- taking away the union's one source of power vs. the networks.

Believe me, I sympathize with the reality show hate; really, I do. But putting it in those simplistic terms, of which I'm totally guilty, shifts the blame onto the reality shows and off where it really belongs -- the networks who would rather come up with new programming than concede to the WGA's very reasonable demands. And I would imagine that it makes reality-TV fans feel like they're being attacked (which, hopefully, isn't the case) and make them even less likely to sympathize with the aims of the WGA and their supportive fans. It really shouldn't need to turn into an "us" vs. "them" issue between the fans, when the real issue at hand is the networks' behavior. And I shouldn't have presented it that way.