Culture

Writers strike means reality boom times

by mtippett | November 27, 2007 at 11:32 pm

483 views | 0 Recommendations | 2 comments

There are potential implications for the news business here too:

LOS ANGELES - For five years, John Langley tried and failed to sell a cinema verite-style TV series tracking police officers on patrol. Then came the 1988 Hollywood writers strike.

"That's when Fox bought `Cops,' because a series with no narrator, no host, no script, no re-enactments sounded very good to them at the time," recalled Langley, who just marked the show's 700th episode.

0 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

recommend This comment thread is now closed

Rob Walker

at 04:59 on November 28th, 2007

The good news is that the unions that handle all the equipment, roadies, etc. are striking along with the writers in a show of support, so they don't have the resources to just shovel out a bunch of reality shows. The networks are going to be well and truly screwed until they work out an appropriate method of paying their writers for digital distribution.

Jordan Yerman

at 05:11 on November 28th, 2007

As Rob said, the current strike is different from the last, in that the means of actual production are also tied up in a strike: reality programming requires the same infrastructure as scripted programming. That the studios didn't anticipate the teamsters' support of the writers shows just how out of touch they (the studios) are.