What is not shown here, is that in the publishing world, a writer gets several dollars per book. And while this is brought out by the WGA, what is not brought out, is that is all the author gets, usually. Of course, if a second or subsequent printing is made, the author gets royalties off that.

Personally, I don’t think the writers are being unreasonable. Asking for another 4 cents per DVD is not enough to hurt the actual price of a DVD. (it probably will, because all those pennies add up, and it translates to lost revenue. So we consumers will undoubtedly be asked to pay an additional buck per dvd; to pay for the 4 cent increase).

I dont know whether asking for 2.5% of internet, mp3, or whatever future form of media may be is asking too much or not. Since the studios arent paying anything now, it will undoubtedly hurt. Something should be paid. 2.5% doesn’t seem like a lot, percentage-wise.

I think its the studios who are being unreasonable. But, then again, its not me paying the bills.
Oh, wait. Yes it is.

That doesn’t make your bullshit detector go off? That they were promised more money 20+ years ago? Personally I question stuff like that because I realize everything between the writers and the producers is documented in writing and backed up by contracts.

If the writers were truly promised more extra money 20+ years ago, I would imagine they would have that promise in writing.

I’m not against the writers or anyone else for that matter getting more money. More money is good. I just have to wonder if they aren’t shooting themselves in the foot. Last year, six of the top-10 most watched shows were non-scripted reality shows. Last night as I was watched Survivor, CBS ran a commercial looking for people to audition for the reality show Big Brother. It’s a show CBS always runs in the summer. Why would they be looking for people this early? My guess is that they want to put out Big Brother a lot sooner.

Who said I wasn’t compensated for my work? I get a paycheck every week. I get paid for the work I do. Just like the writers. To say they don’t get paid for the work they do is incorrect. The writers have always been paid for their work. Quite handsomely in fact.

What’s at stake here is the extra money. The money they are paid above and beyond their normal pay for the work they performed. They simply want more of it. I get that. I understand that. I also understand the whole picture.

I also understood why the baseball players went on strike. That doesn’t mean I felt sorry for them. If you truly feel sorry for the writers, that’s your choice.

The internet factors in because the writers see the same situation coming again. Just because the networks don’t charge the consumer for the content, doesn’t mean they aren’t making money off of it. As Schooly pointed out, there is adspace on it. Technically, we don’t pay NBC, CBS, or anyone else directly for their shows. It’s all through our cable company, which is (in many cases) the exact same way our television shows are being distributed to us.
It’s true that the writers are not really coming up with “more material,” in most cases. In the case of the Office webisodes (which I never saw), I would say that stuff genuinely is promotional. They want to increase their audience, so they throw this bone out. Just so long as the actors do not receive pay, that’s cool. But showing entire episodes online, with ads, is pretty much the exact same thing as network television.

As for it all putting other people out of work, that part truly does suck completely. I don’t think anyone would disagree with that. I am sort of on the fence with this whole topic, but the fact that the writers were never given back what was promised to them sways my vote over to their side.

In the case of internet shit, they’re writing more stuff and not getting anything for it.

If you are taking more responsibilities on at work without being compensated for it, you might want to have a chat with your boss.

The fact that some other people are out of work because of the strike is really a misdirection here. I feel bad for those people, but I also feel bad for the writers.

This is totally like the shit that happened in the comics industry years ago. I know because Sloofus told me so.

That’s not a good example in that I have constantly held positions where I was constantly taking on new responsibilities. It’s called having a job.

How exactly are the writers doing more work? Nobody is saying that they should not be paid for the work they do. The writers just want more money. I get that. I’m just not going to ignore the fact that their desire for more money is forcing thousands of other people to lose their job around the holidays. People that don’t get to complain about the size of their residuals because they never have had residuals.

I think it’s great that Tina Fey has gone out on the picket line and picketed with the writers. Something tells me though that she will still be able to buy her family Christmas presents this year. I can’t say the same for the people that were laid off because of this strike.

Rick, I’m sure if your boss said that he/she was going to add a new responsibility to your job and pay you for it someday, maybe, you would also not be too pleased.

Strikes do affect a lot of people. And it’s a shame that it is near the holidays. Why not take a right-wing view of things: retailers always need help at Christmas time, so there’s plenty of work to be had.

Also, generally speaking, anyone who uses the word “apologists” is full of shit.

Looking at Mark’s entry, I think I marked off at least 4 spots on my Republican bingo card. Good thing I already have the “Mission Accomplished!” free space in the middle!