Writers’ Strike Roundup

If you live in a hermetically-sealed, media-free bubble, then you might not be aware that the Writers Guild of America (WGA) made good on its threat and went on strike this morning.

We’ve followed the story extensively, but here’s a quick roundup of other coverage currently happening around the web:

The LA Times is blogging about the strike, with continuous updates, such as this one:

The strikers marched behind metal barricades set up on 49th Street in front of the phalanx of U.S. flags that flank the Rockefeller Center ice skating rink and iconic gold statue and water fountain. “Writers want fair share!” they chanted under the watchful gaze of several security guards and New York police officers, as the strains of Andrea Bocelli floated up from the skating rink, where skaters coasted around the ice.

TV Decoder confirms that fans of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report will have to sit through repeats.

The New York Times notes that unlike other industries that go on strike, different WGA members make vastly different salaries, making this more of a hardship for some than it is for others.

Among the Writers Guild’s 12,000 members are television writer-producers like Shonda Rhimes, the creator of “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Private Practice,” who take home up to $5 million a year. On the other extreme are junior writers who — if they work at all — make $50,000 or less. About 48 percent of West Coast members are unemployed, according to guild statistics. (No such statistics exist for East Coast members.)

Actors on some shows, like B.J. Novak of The Office, also serve as writers and as such, notes the Times, face a tough choice:

Because it has several scribes who also serve as thesps (also including Mindy Kaling and Paul Lieberstein), “The Office” is one of the most visible examples of shows where conflicting interests will be at work once a strike begins. But all over town, a number of WGA members will be facing similarly tough calls.

Shawn Ryan, showrunner of the Shield, the Unit, and the Oaks, explains why he is electing to drop all of his duties, writerly and otherwise, in a letter published on Deadline Hollywood Daily.

The only slight silver lining to all of this is that while the strike inflicts damage on mainstream television, it could end up being a boon for web shows. The LA Times writes:

The Web, as a matter of fact, is the one obvious difference between now and ’88. Faced with a long drought of fresh scripted material on network and cable TV, are we all going to end up junkies for the junk on YouTube? Hey, catch you later on MyDamnChannel.com! FunnyOrDie.com — it’s alive again!

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