Am I a jerk if I don't care about the writer's strike?

[garybeck]

Don't get me wrong, they have every right to strike. I just think this story is getting way too much coverage for the importance of it (or lack thereof) to the people of this country. It seems like practically every day it's in the headlines, as if we're all waiting with baited breath to see when it's going to be resolved. Like the country is coming to a hault because of it.

As much as anything, I think this is almost a little funny, exposing the fact that these "comedians" don't actually write their own stuff. To tell you the truth, I don't give a crap if Jay Leno's stupid show is going to run out funny things to say. Maybe they talk about something that matters instead, for a change.

As far as the citcoms go, they can wither on the vine. Who needs them.

Don't take this the wrong way. I'm not criticizing the writers. If they feel they are getting ripped off, then strike away. Just don't put it in the headlines every day. This is just another example of how the media ignores the real problems and shoves stories down our throats. I won't get in to the myriad of stories that should be in the headlines. You know.

I understand it's about royalties... But I've had a writing job before, and I never got any royalties. I got paid my $15/hr to write, and the company I worked for owned my writings. They could have turn around and sold my words for a million dollars and I would have never gotten a penny. I was employed by them. It was my job to write and I got paid for it, an agreed amount. Isn't that the way it is with the TV writers?

Now it's starting to sound like I give a crap. Look, I just spent a whole 5 minutes writing about it. What a waste. There's more important things going on in the world.

Go ahead and strike, writers. I believe in the rights, and the right to strike for any reason. Bring the networks to their knees. Make them pay! But this is not a firefighter strike, or a nurses strike, or an air traffic controller strike. I honestly don't care if, when, or how it gets resolved. And I'm tired of reading about it in the headlines like it really matters to anyone other than the writers themselves.

Does that make me an insensitive jerk?

[Annces]

1. well it translates to big money

and that is what our society is all about.

[MercutioATC]

2. Actually, it translates into yet another management/labor struggle...

...which is the kind of thing that needs all the press it can get these days.

[Mojambo]

9. Indeed. Anything that throws this issue out there is good, IMO.

[phantom power]

3. One difference between your job and theirs...

You got paid to write, but they often write without pay, and sell very very cheaply. So, they make their money later, off royalties, if what they write is successful.

[rolleitreks]

4. What will happen to the Republic without our television circus? n/t

[eleny]

5. It's important also because it's a union issue

I care. But I will say that I don't miss the shows - not even <gasp> The Daily Show. I'm reading more every night.

[mike_c]

6. happily, not owning a television, I haven't heard much pseudo-news...

...about the Hollywood writer's strike. Like you, I fully support their strike. I would support their strike even if I didn't support their objectives-- that's what unions are for, and if THEY agreed to walk out, then I will support them, period.

On the other hand, beyond that principle, I don't give a rat's buttocks about entertainment industry writers, especially TV writers. TV is just about the most bankrupt medium wasting the already terminally short attention spans of Americans, and every day that it falters is a good day IMO.

[L0oniX]

7. Writers for ABC CBS NBC and FOX can kiss my ass ...nothing but junk anyway.

[kestrel91316]

8. Well, it has shot our local economy all to hell.

The phones are barely ringing since the strike began, and all I seem to be doing is euthanizing the dying and treating neglected problems too conservatively to make a difference. Between the housing disaster and the gas price disaster and the writers' strike disaster, we have hit the goddamed trifecta. Nobody is willing to part with the few dimes they have.

[leaninglib]

10. If it does, I am one as well.

And I don't care what people think about how I feel either.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

11. Many more people/workers than writers are being hurt by the strike.

Plus, as noted, it's a union issue.

[garybeck]

14. Right, i'm not saying they shouldn't strike.

i'm just saying it's not that big of a story and it's being hyped and over dramatized.

[Mojambo]

15. Your problem doesn't seem to be with the strike, but with the entertainment news industry.

I can sympathize with that.

Entertainment news coverage sucks, strike or not.

[fujiyama]

12. They have a right to strike

The studios are likely fucking the writers over just as they are the consumers with overpriced media. And when they play the shows on the websites, advertisements are still present. Writers should certainly be paid for ad revenue generated.

I agree that this issue is overhyped and ultimately isn't that important. I watch a few TV shows (Lost being the one I'd be looking the most forward to when it returns), but is it the end of the world if it's not back for a while? No. It's a TV show. Maybe I'll use that hour every week to do something more productive.

[garybeck]

13. Right, i did say that. n/t