Guild of America (Wga) Strike Term Paper

As USA Today's Bill Keveney recently noted, "The broadcast networks [are airing] fewer than 20 live-action, 30-minute sitcoms, about half as many as five seasons ago.... No sitcom has finished in the top 10 since 'Everybody Loves Raymond' in 2005." (Dumenco 2007, NP)

This may lead some to conclude that the writer's strike will actually have less of an effect on the industry than expected, because so much of their work has been replaced by primetime reality television offerings and therefore when they are not working there is always something else to watch. Again, this remains to be seen, as there are still many diehard fans who would rather continue to watch sitcoms and television news broadcasts, though trends show that even these venues are dying off as more and more people seek their news from the ala cart news offerings of the internet. In short it can be argued that the writers hold less of the share of television viewing offerings than they have in the past and therefore the strike might not be so bad, though this would be hard to argue to individuals participating in the strike or getting laid off because of it.

It is unlikely that television viewers will all completely abandon their writer driven programming, as a result of the strike, as many will be figuratively "dying" to know what is going to happen now, to their beloved characters, after such a long hiatus. Yet, the networks and producers may be forced to seriously disappoint many when they do not have the revenue to continue shows that were even the least bit marginal before the break, and is rushing to develop new story lines once they come back online.

Conclusion:

This work has demonstrated that television is already in the throws of massive changes, as well as some that will be a direct result of the WGA strike. We have already seen the stop of production of many of the public's favorite shows and are watching reruns, or not watching at all. We will likely see ad usage change over the next few weeks, as advertisers seek to redistribute to other venues for the tough holiday season, and as the writers are likely to come back online during the heat of the 2008 elections there may be not time for networks to make up the lost revenue.This could result in the scrapping of even some of the most favorite of television programs, as viewers respond to the strike by getting invested in reality television. The Southern California and New York areas are likely to see significant financial losses as their industry and its support agencies and last but certainly not least, job loss for writers and others, even after the conclusion of the strike may be eminent.

References

Cooper, M. (2001, April 2). Residual Anger: Hollywood Unions on the Brink.

The Nation, 272, 22.

Dumenco, S. Cheap laughs take bite out of network comedy's bottom line. (November, 12, 2007) Advertising Age, 78, 45 NP Retrieved from Database Business Search Premier:

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=6&hid=3&sid=64d87508-2933-42ac-8c2c-f76a37955c7f%40sessionmgr8

Grossman, B. Why the Strike Will Be a Long One. (November, 12 2007) Broadcasting & Cable, 137, 45. pp. 3, 30. Retrieved from Database Business Search Premier:

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=6&hid=13&sid=4555a44d-b1e1-44fe-9c3d-b2e41efdca4e%40sessionmgr8

Grossman B. Guthrie, M. How Much Will WGA Strike Hurt? (November 5, 2007) Broadcasting & Cable; 11/5/2007, 137,44, pp. 5,28. Retrieved from Database Business Search Premier: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=15&hid=13&sid=4555a44d-b1e1-44fe-9c3d-b2e41efdca4e%40sessionmgr8

Eisendrath, J. (1988, November). The Making of the Hollywood Working Class; How the Writers' Strike Drove the Jaguar Owners to the Barricades. Washington Monthly, 20, 13.

Strike Halts Production on various Network TV Shows (November 25, 2007) Los Angeles Business NP

Retrieved from Database Business Search Premier:

http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/stories/2007/11/05/daily18.html

Strike-bitten TV sellers fear coughing up cash. (November 11, 2007) Advertising Age; 78, 47, pp. 1,27. http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=122190

Young, S.M. Commentary: Writing Off the Season? (November 5, 2007) Forbes.com http://www.forbes.com/opinions/2007/11/05/hollywood-writers-strike-oped-cx_smy_1105young.html.....