I support the Writer's Guild Strike.

Hi everyone! I just want to take a moment to talk about the Writers Guild strike, and why I feel so strongly about it. As you've probably figured out by reading my blog over the years, I am a giant TV and movie fan. Nothing pleases me more than watching a new episode of a favorite show, or seeing a fantastic film.* And I'll admit, my first thought when I heard that there might be a work stoppage was "What about my favorite tv show, Supernatural? I must have it, I must!"

But after reading about the earnest negotiations attempted by the WGA as they tried to reach a fair contract, and how rigidly the studios rejected any sort of compromise, I have to say, the writers have my full support. Their demands are not unreasonable. These are not people who are making a ton of money being greedy and wanting a big chunk of the pie. In my opinion, they are asking for a fair percentage of the profit made from the use of the works they helped to create, in a way that represents the changing face of broadcast television's new media outlets.

I plan to show my support by doing the following:

• As long as the strike runs, I will not watch any reality TV show or any show that attempts to air solely unscripted material, excepting news programs which are not covered by the Guild. Several studio heads have been quoted as saying they aren't worried about shutting down their scripted programs because they can just air more reality tv.


• As long as the strike continues, I will not watch any streaming videos of scripted shows on the internet. I will not download episodes from iTunes or Amazon, or any other subscriber service. The writers get no compensation for the use of their material in this manner.


• As long as new scripted shows air, I will watch them. The writers get paid for these broadcasts. Click here to see how many episodes you can expect of your fave shows.


• As long as the strike continues, I will not purchase any DVDs.

I'm posting this to ask you to consider doing the same. I'm not trying to pressure anyone, and I know some of you probably couldn't care less about this situation - it's by no means the most dire thing going on in the world right now - but it's something that I feel strongly about, and I wanted to share that with you. If you do feel the same, I also urge you to share this information with your friends, on- and off-line.




*Well, okay, there might be a couple of things that please me more, but I'm trying to stay on topic here.

ETA: xposted to Facebook and Myspace