How is the Writers Strike Affecting You?

Jim Avila of ABC World News Webcast interviews Dade Hayes of Variety about the on-going writers strike in Hollywood:

So what does this tell viewers at this point about what they are going to see on television from now until possibly next Fall. Are we going to see any of those really good programs that are well written or are we going to be in the wasteland of reality TV?

Dade Hayes: Well, it's going to be reality heavy. They've predicted that since last fall when the strike was really taking shape. Shows like American Gladiator and American Idol are already happening now. The question is how much will they be scraping for reality concept as the Spring wears on. We don't really know that.

I mean it's a case where every viewer can cast their vote. If you're not interested in reality replacing your favorite scripted show, you can simply tune out or go to cable or go to the internet. It's basically that simple. The question now is whether the ratings on reality will be high enough to keep the engines running at the network.

Link [ABC World News Webcast, Flash video]

Let me ask you this:

[poll=5]

Hmm, I can't see the poll results without voting, but I can't pick from the three. I don't watch TV, so it doesn't affect me, BUT I don't want it to go on forever. The writers need a decent agreement.
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It isn't effecting me *yet*. I don't get broadcast or network TV (netflix fits my schedule better) so I have to wait a season or so anyway before seeing "my shows". But the strike will make for a very short season this year.
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I'm with Mrs. C.

I don't have cable or anything, but I am rooting for the writers to get a decent agreement. I think the networks are pretty greedy. I really hope that the strike hits them where it hurts and forces them to give good deals to their writers.
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It's affecting me in that I'm not watching much TV at all, which is making me think that I could cut out a lot of TV watching and spend my time elsewhere.
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I hope the writers do get a good deal, they seem to have had it raw for a while, but as far as my own TV-watching, all my programmes are either Canadian or British, so there's no effect on me at all.
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I got cable the week the strike began, so yeah I'd love for it to be over, I'm paying for nothing. Also, if Lost doesn't continue after those 8 episodes there will be a riot.
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Hmm. I voted "meh..." since I rarely remember to watch the shows I enjoy, so the reruns have actually been sorta beneficial so far. However, the writers should get a better deal in their contracts, so not so much with the "go on forever."
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I miss Heroes.

And really I only miss that because it means when it comes on again I won't be with the person I'm always with when I watch it.

That makes me pretty god damn sad.
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Pretty much all I watch are The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and Battlestar Gallactica.

I REALLY missed Jon and Stephen. I hope the writers get the deal they want (which still isn't as good a deal as they should have).
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I want the last 13 episodes of season 2 for Heroes. They already have it filmed but the writers are not allowing it to be shown. Heroes is the only show which I want to see.
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I support the Writer's Guild and their strike, even though it has left me and most of my colleagues in pre-production unemployed for the last couple of months. I hope they settle soon.
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not really much of an effect on my plans. i haven't had cable for almost 4 years now and i don't miss it, really. maybe along with negotiations of better pay, the writers could write better stuff? i mean, consider what we're missing due to this strike... almost nothing, as it seems nobody is effected too much. of course most of us agree that they deserve better pay, but if they aren't even writing very good material, what are they really fighting for? LOST is awesome, and I hear (and read) good things about Heroes, but two shows out of how many isn't much to fight for...
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Eh, I dont really miss it all that much, like others , I dont watch alot of TV.
I want the writers to get a good deal and I think they're owed what they're asking for BUT they're hurting alot of innocent people (the florists, boom operators, caterers, etc, etc) when these shows are stopped and they have nothing to do with the disagreement. At least keep working and negotiating at the same time or something. The networks dont give a crap about these people so it wont get them to negotiate - the writers should be the bigger man on this one and end it so all these innocent workers arent hurt even more.
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I am missing a lot of things I normally watch, but it's a small price to pay if the writers get the contracts they want. The other innocent people being hurt by the strike aren't being hurt by the writers but by the networks who aren't being fair about compensating writers for their expertise.
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Theres still another 2 mos or so of scripted TV, so it won't get really terrible till that dries up. I hope they agree on terms soon, but already I'm watching and buying programs online. That's what they're fighting for a part of the revenue on, so I'll wait patiently. If it goes on too long it will kill TV as we know it.

That may not be such a bad thing.
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Unions eventually destroy the markets they are supposed to protect. See the US auto workers unions, for example, which priced their own workers out of the market and made the companies that employed them uncompetitive in the process.

There's no need for a union if people are actually individually talented. Let them compete on an individual basis like the rest of us.
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