Writers Strike (Reloaded)

[Gaddabout]

News shows don't have writers. They have producers and reporters. If there's a writing staff, it's not a news show.

 

[bankybruce]

News shows don't have writers. They have producers and reporters. If there's a writing staff, it's not a news show.

Is a show like Talk Soup considered a news show?

Thanks for the info by the way.

 

[Gaddabout]

Is a show like Talk Soup considered a news show?

Thanks for the info by the way.

Talk Soup is "infotainment." It's news like People is a news magazine.

 

[bankybruce]

Talk Soup is "infotainment." It's news like People is a news magazine.

Thanks again. I was just trying to figure out the differences with some shows going dark and other not when they all seem like they are shows on simital channels like The Daily Show vs. Talk Soup

 

[Gaddabout]

Thanks again. I was just trying to figure out the differences with some shows going dark and other not when they all seem like they are shows on simital channels like The Daily Show vs. Talk Soup

Talk Soup is likely written by the host and the producers. I'm just guessing, but they don't have to create original segments. They just riff on video. It's like VH1's "Best Week Ever."

Easiest. Comedy. Ever.

Anyone can be glib about celebrities. You and I could write comedy material with similar success for shows like that.

Daily Show is different because it's like the first 10 minutes of Leno/Letterman, only it's like that for the entire show. That's very hard to produce and requires staff writers working long hours.

It takes about a year for a veteran standup comedian to flesh out material for a half-hour or hour-long broadcast standup routine. Writing stuff approaching that quality on a daily basis is a major chore, requiring talented comedy writers who have their egos in check.

However, sometimes I think writers for SNL have too much time on their hands, because 95 percent of the stuff they produce is only funny if you've been hitting the kush. I suspect rampant pot smoking is the primary reason SNL has sucked for so many years. There's nothing savvy or ironic about their writing anymore. It's all just really bad parody.

 

[bankybruce]

Talk Soup is likely written by the host and the producers. I'm just guessing, but they don't have to create original segments. They just riff on video. It's like VH1's "Best Week Ever."

Easiest. Comedy. Ever.

Anyone can be glib about celebrities. You and I could write comedy material with similar success for shows like that.

Daily Show is different because it's like the first 10 minutes of Leno/Letterman, only it's like that for the entire show. That's very hard to produce and requires staff writers working long hours.

It takes about a year for a veteran standup comedian to flesh out material for a half-hour or hour-long broadcast standup routine. Writing stuff approaching that quality on a daily basis is a major chore, requiring talented comedy writers who have their egos in check.

However, sometimes I think writers for SNL have too much time on their hands, because 95 percent of the stuff they produce is only funny if you've been hitting the kush. I suspect rampant pot smoking is the primary reason SNL has sucked for so many years. There's nothing savvy or ironic about their writing anymore. It's all just really bad parody.

Thanks for that. It does make sense now.

 

[Trey]

Report: Studios cancel writers contracts

Tue Jan 15, 4:45 AM PST
Four major studios have canceled dozens of writers' contracts in a possible concession that the current television season cannot be saved, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

The move means the 2-month old writers strike may also endanger next season's new shows, the Times said.

January is usually the beginning of pilot season, when networks order new scripted shows. But the strike leaves networks without a pool of comedy and drama scripts from which to choose.

20th Century Fox Television, CBS Paramount Network Television, NBC Universal and Warner Bros. Television told the Times they have terminated development and production agreements.

Studios typically pay $500,000 to $2 million a year per writer for them and their staffs to develop new show concepts.

"I didn't see it coming," Barbara Hall, a writer and producer whose credits include former CBS series "Joan of Arcadia" and "Judging Amy," told the Times, which said ABC executives gave her the news Friday. "I am not entirely sure what their strategy is, all I know was that I was a casualty of it."

The newspaper said more than 65 deals with writers have been eliminated since Friday.

http://tv.yahoo.com/news/article/urn:newsml:tv.ap.org:20080115:hollywood_labor

 

[Darth Llama]

Studios typically pay $500,000 to $2 million a year per writer for them and their staffs to develop new show concepts.

$500k -$2Mil a year and they're on strike?

Seriously, screw these writers. I hope they all get fired and bring in new people so we can move on. If they won't do their jobs for that kind of money, there are plenty of people who will.

 

[Gaddabout]

$500k -$2Mil a year and they're on strike?

Seriously, screw these writers. I hope they all get fired and bring in new people so we can move on. If they won't do their jobs for that kind of money, there are plenty of people who will.

Those are show creators and show runners. The average writer makes about $65K a year, which in LA is like making $40K in Phoenix. In NY it's probably like making $30K to $35K. They make less than the crew in some cases.

 

[Stout]

$500k -$2Mil a year and they're on strike?

Seriously, screw these writers. I hope they all get fired and bring in new people so we can move on. If they won't do their jobs for that kind of money, there are plenty of people who will.

$500,000 to $2 million a year per writer for them and their staffs

Hey bud, read that again? Yeah, for THEM AND THEIR STAFFS. Ya know, like, a split?

 

[Chaplin]

And there's the problem that nobody has even addressed. Does anyone even recognize that the quality of writing on television is awful? Sure, there are shows like The Office that have great writers, but a majority of stuff on television is just terrible. I guess you get what you pay for.

Writer's staffs are a big problem, because when you have 5 different writers writing a single episode of a 22 minute sitcom, you might as well have 5 monkeys doing it. Hey, they did it for Cavemen.

 

[Linderbee]

a majority of stuff on television is just terrible. I guess you get what you pay for.

Hence why I watch very, very little tv anymore. It's mostly crap.

 

[Gaddabout]

And there's the problem that nobody has even addressed. Does anyone even recognize that the quality of writing on television is awful?

An effect of the awful taste of the typical television viewer. Not necessarily the cause.

 

[Chaplin]

An effect of the awful taste of the typical television viewer. Not necessarily the cause.

OMG, you don't actually buy into that, do you?

 

[abomb]

An effect of the awful taste of the typical television viewer. Not necessarily the cause.

OMG, you don't actually buy into that, do you?

I want to see some nice analysis here guys.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Chap,

when you you think that this strike will end?

 

[Mulli]

And there's the problem that nobody has even addressed. Does anyone even recognize that the quality of writing on television is awful? Sure, there are shows like The Office that have great writers, but a majority of stuff on television is just terrible. I guess you get what you pay for.

Writer's staffs are a big problem, because when you have 5 different writers writing a single episode of a 22 minute sitcom, you might as well have 5 monkeys doing it. Hey, they did it for Cavemen.

Yep

 

[Chaplin]

Chap,

when you you think that this strike will end?

I have no idea. Everyone is so frustrated over here. Our jobs are safe for the time being, but if the writers decide to stretch this out past March, I'm going to be in trouble.

Negotiations are happening now with the DGA (Director's Guild) and everyone is hoping that if a contract is ironed out with them, that will spur the writers to make more of an effort.

The studios are not without fault, but the media is having a lot of fun placing all the blame solely on the producers--and it is actually the greed of BOTH sides that is causing the problem.

 

[abomb]

Negotiations are happening now with the DGA (Director's Guild) and everyone is hoping that if a contract is ironed out with them, that will spur the writers to make more of an effort.

The studios are not without fault, but the media is having a lot of fun placing all the blame solely on the producers--and it is actually the greed of BOTH sides that is causing the problem.

To that point, I read/heard a story yesterday explaining the DGA negotiations and it stated that the word "strike" hasnt been uttered.

 

[Gaddabout]

OMG, you don't actually buy into that, do you?

Roseanne was a Top 10 hit for years, so forgive me if I'm a little bitter with the public's support of what I consider to be awful television. The public responds to mellodrama and crass humor. Or at the very least they want it to be light-minded. Sherwood Schwartz understood that and made millions (if not billions).

What are the best of the best written shows (for public broadcast)? Cheers comes to mind. Archie Bunker tackled a lot of difficult issues, but I don't think it was more culturally important than timeless writing. Lost is brilliant in the way they frame the narrative. Seinfeld probably stands the test of time. The Simpsons, for better or worse, probably stands as the most consistently well-written show, but they can't break a host of rules a live-action show can't.

It's hard to think of many popular TV shows the last 25 years where the writing stood out on its own. The best written shows -- in my opinion -- are usually the ones dragging down the networks. Where's the audience for 30 Rock? Where was the audience for Arrested Development? The writing for these shows was impeccable but failed to engage the masses.

No doubt, television producers and advertisers have conspired to keep the audience in the dark to good television because -- as the BBC has proven -- it takes time to develop and it costs a lot of money once it develops an audience. The audience has done little to protest, though, thus we get hours and hours of reality programming and rehash sit coms with laugh tracks.

So, yes, I blame us, the audience, for failing to demand better writing -- and better programming. If 30 million people are going to flock to American Idol, there's not much we can do to blame Hollywood for the dearth of strong writing and original content.

 

[Chaplin]

I agree that the public likes lowest common denominator humor, but the writing should NEVER be dictated by that fact. Especially with such a generalization like you put forward.

 

[abomb]

Roseanne was a Top 10 hit for years, so forgive me if I'm a little bitter with the public's support of what I consider to be awful television.

I agree with everything but this. Roseanne was a wonderfully-written show (at least the first six seasons), broaching topics with the same irreverence of its predecessors such as "All in the Family".

 

[Mulli]

I agree with everything but this. Roseanne was a wonderfully-written show (at least the first six seasons), broaching topics with the same irreverence of its predecessors such as "All in the Family".

You did not just equate Roseanne with the Archie Bunker Show.

 

[Linderbee]

I actually like Roseanne very much. It did approach difficult topics, and was darn funny.

 

[Gaddabout]

I agree that the public likes lowest common denominator humor, but the writing should NEVER be dictated by that fact. Especially with such a generalization like you put forward.

Until there's a financial need to pay writers who are more likely to head to NY and the stage scene, Hollywood won't. That can only come from the audiences demanding more intelligent content