Writing for a Cause

In case you haven’t noticed, there are some writers on strikes. But not it’s not the writers who fill the pages of newspapers or the screen of your computer. It’s the writers who make “The Office” hilarious and “Grey’s Anatomy” nail clawing to watch.
Entertainment writers are on strike.
Immediately, the effects of the strike are reruns of late night talk shows and the halting on production of sitcoms and dramas.
What these writers are striking for are a share of the profits from online ventures and DVD sales.
Currently, they get three cents from every DVD sold and zip from online revenue.
They want six cents from DVD and ANYTHING from the web.
They argue that with media going more toward home entertainment – both people’s tv screens and their computer (ipod, cell phone, etc) screens, they want a cut of that loot.
Well, the problem is these huge conglomerates are still learning how to make money from the internet. I would bet a few CEOs are still learning what the internet is. Right now, they make squat.
I write for a newspaper, actually two – they spilt my salary. The stories I write end up in either or both papers and often in a third. They appear online. They can be used as referenced in future stories and published in different editions, etc. The point is that I get paid to write the original story. What my bosses do with that story beyond that is up to them and I don’t see another dime. True, I don’t write on a “per story” schedule but essentially I get paid for writing.
Now, if TV writers write stuff exclusively for the web, then yes, that is call for additional pay. But if what they write for television ends up on someone’s cell phone, ipod, computer or toothbrush, well, that is essentially up to the GEs and Disneys of this world.
Don’t get me wrong, I think the writers should ask for more pay if they feel they deserve more but they should be asking for more per story, episode or joke they write. Not on how that joke or story is used.
I hate that the strike as halted production on my favorite TV shows like “The Office” and “30 Rock” but if it means less crap like “Grey’s Anatomy” or CSI: Detriot” well . . .it may be worth the trouble