BLOGGING THE VIEW: American writers’ strike: 5 things you should know

If you haven’t already heard, the Writers Guild of America – which represents around 11 500 television and film writers – announced a strike earlier this week.

Writers have taken to the streets with witty placards and big demands for the fat-cat studios to fork out what the writers actually deserve.

There’s no indication that a negotiation will be tabled as yet, and the longer the strike continues, the more audiences will be affected. Here’s what you should know.

1. The impact of new media

Those of us who remember the 2007/08 writers’ strike that impacted some of our famous shows might recall the biggest conflict was the arrival of new media.

Streaming and online platforms were already changing how media was consumed, and writers were getting left behind in terms of pay. This conflict is still a major part of the strike.

2. AI is a big concern

That’s right, ChatGPT has arrived and is already making massive waves across various industries – writing being one of them.

The Writers Guild of America argues that there should be stricter limits on the use of AI in writing, with demands not to rewrite AI-generated scripts or have AI interfere in human-created scripts.

3. Will movies be affected by the strike?

If the strike continues for several months, as it did in 1988, we’re going to see an impact on movie productions.

However, because of the long production times, movies scheduled for release this year have already been shot and produced so you don’t have to worry if there’s something you’ve been waiting to see.

4. What about TV shows?

While movies might be safe for now, your favourite TV shows could be impacted if the strike continues.

There will be a decline in new TV series, although we might only notice this later in the year. Shows like reality series and soap operas will be most impacted right now.

5. What will be most affected?

The effects of the writers’ strike are most evident in the late-night TV shows such as Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Late Night With Seth Meyers. All these are now off the air as they require daily writing to keep the shows running.

Sources:
www.nytimes.com
www.cbsnews.com
www.latimes.com

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