College Times

Media Credit: Chris Ware

The Writers Guild of America voted yesterday to end their three-month strike. The details about what the writers gained are as murky as what they were striking about in the first place. But after almost $2 billion lost from the strike, there were lessons learned. Here's hoping someone took notes.

Lesson 1: When you want to sling mud against the WGA, don't do it in writing

After negations fell through for the umpteenth time, it was amazing how quickly both the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers resorted to the kind of name-calling last seen in third grade. Both organizations released press statements, each finding eloquent ways to call each other doodie-heads, but unfortunately for the AMPTP, the WGA is made up of writers.

Good Idea:
We remain ready and willing to negotiate, no matter how intransigent our bargaining partners are, because the stakes are simply too high. We were prepared to counter their proposal tonight, and when any of them are ready to return to the table, we're here, ready to make a fair deal. - WGA Statement

Bad Idea:
Their Quixotic pursuit of radical demands led them to begin this strike, and now has caused this breakdown in negotiations. We hope that the WGA will come back to this table with a rational plan that can lead us to a fair and equitable resolution to a strike that is causing so much distress for so many people in our industry and community. - AMPTP Response

The writers wisely used industry and public support to launch a successful campaign against the AMPTP, who have and always will be seen as money grubbing suits. This leads to the next point …

Lesson 2: The writers had a sense of humor … and brains.

I know, it's hard to imagine that the guys who write for "The Daily Show" are just as funny on their own, but a simple YouTube search for WGA writers will reveal a plethora of funny and entertaining productions made by the striking writers. Backed by SAG, the writers used well-known faces to promote their goal, and in the process, turned the public on the AMPTP. In the public's mind, the loss of "The Office," "24" and "Lost" was reason enough to force pressure on the AMPTP to capitulate. On the legal front, the WGA wisely set up interim deals with independent studios. Like the game of "Risk," the WGA captured enough smaller studios to support their campaign against the giant corporations.

Lesson 3: The internet still hasn't found its footing.

When TV shows started to go dark, the beacon for internet-produced series was lit. Some found themselves at the right place at the right time like the hit twenty-something series, "Quarterlife." While others tried to cash in on the lack of original programming with internet-only shows (the Myspace-produced "Roommates"). The strike in '88 was directly responsible for bringing cable TV into the mainstream, but the internet has yet to become the David who's going to take out the TV Goliath with a single, perfectly-aimed shot. This mirrors the AMPTP's own counter-argument against the writer's claim for internet residuals: no one knows where internet entertainment is going and it will be a while still before we find out.

Lesson 4: Hollywood loves their award shows . . . The WGA earned their first major victory when Hollywood had no choice but to abbreviate their Golden Globes telecast to nothing more than a fancy press conference. In the process, they cost Tinseltown almost $150 million dollars in revenue for that one event. Losing the Oscar telecast would've been twice as devastating to Hollywood's advertising staff, but . . .

Lesson 5: Audiences love football more. This year, 97 million Americans tuned into the Super Bowl. The combination of positive publicity, one of the best football matches in years, and the right setting catapulted the big game to the second most watched TV show of all time. (The M.A.S.H. finale reigns as number one.) Unfortunately, TV producers can't schedule a bowl game every week, so the result of the WGA strike is kind of a wash. The writer's "win," the AMPTP saves face, but audiences go about their daily lives oblivious of the facts as long as there's quality programming outside the scripted world.

Lesson 6: Carson Daly is still a tool. Fact, but not everyone went the Daly route to survive the WGA strike. Late show hosts like Leno and Letterman earned huge support by paying their staff out of pocket during the strike, and haven't suffered much of a decline in ratings since the strike took hold. If nothing else, the strike forced certain show runners to think creatively and defy conventions. The coordination between Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert and John Stewart proved that a little bit of cross promotion goes a long way, Huckabee is a funny name and originality isn't totally dead. Which leads to the final point:

Lesson 7: Creativity is worth the cost While CBS dusted off their collection of reality series, we were thankfully spared useless dreck like "My Dad is Better than Your Dad." Point being, there is a need for quality writing. The proof is in the $2 billion worth of revenue that's been lost because of the strike. The public knew that, the writer's knew that and now the AMPTP is certain of that.

A point that should be remembered when SAG steps up to the plate in June.

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