Writers are on strike. No, not me (although perhaps I should go on strike; it doesn’t seem like anyone reads what I write anyway). The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is on strike. Since Monday, November 5, they haven’t been writing. The most basic explanation I can give is that they’re standing up to the studios for their rights to a greater percentage of DVD residuals and getting paid for “new media.” Currently, according to Michael Schur, a producer of and writer for The Office, in his and fellow writer Jennifer Celotta’s chat on officetally.com (which is a MUST read), for each $20 DVD, the studios get around $9 and the writers get $.04. That’s right. Four cents for their words and ideas. As for “new media,” they’re talking about shows getting streamed on the Internet. For example, each time Lost is watched on ABC’s site (which is a LOT of times), the studio gets paid for all those annoying ads you’re forced to watch. However, the writers get no residuals while you’re watching that online. The Office got a huge boost when their episodes were sold on iTunes during their first season. NBC got a part of that payment; the writers got nothing. NBC took all episodes off iTunes because they wanted to get paid MORE. Yet the studios say they don’t know much money this new media will generate. It’s a lie. Viacom is suing YouTube for over $1 billion for showing unauthorized clips on that site. But they don’t think they should share any of that money with the writers.

The WGA went on strike for five months in 1988. There’s no telling how long the strike will last this time around; there have been no negotiations since the strike began. It immediately caused late night shows (such as The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Letterman, and Conan) to go into repeats. The Office has shut down production and just aired its last finished episode for the season. Other shows will last for a bit, but are planning how to end their seasons after a few more episodes. But the strike affects more people than the writers and the fans. Every day that they’re on strike is another day that a crew member doesn’t get paid because they’re not working. Yes, some of the writers get paid well, and the actors get paid well, but there are many other writers who get paid on a regular scale, and all the crew members who get paid a lot less are all losing money.

The writers are absolutely correct. They should be on strike, and they should be fighting for their right to their residuals. But I hope it won’t last too long and everyone will go back to work soon.

United Hollywood is a great site to keep up with the strike happenings.

Michael Schur, a producer of and writer for The Office, wrote this great piece about the negotiations.

Damon Lindelof, one of the masterminds behind Lost, wrote this fantastic op-ed about the strike.

And as always, check out OfficeTally for up-to-date information on how the strike affects The Office.

And, of course, you can check out the WGA’s site directly for the latest information. Here’s an interesting tidbit I just found:

11/15/07
Following his public statement of solidarity with the Writers Guild of America last week, U.S. Senator John Edwards will join striking writers on the picket line Friday, November 16 to support the WGA in its ongoing fight to secure a fair and reasonable deal.