Top Five Reasons Why I Support the WGA

Since I'm unable to post more than a couple times a day, I can't compete with the flood of information on the writers' strike elsewhere (check out TV Tattle and Ducky Does TV, among others, for updates). I can, however, tell you why I personally support the Writers Guild of America one hundred percent, even though the strike may lead to less quality television for us fans in the short-term.

1. When a writer's work makes money for a company, that writer deserves to be paid. Period. Residuals are how the business works.

2. Contrary to popular opinion, most writers aren't rich. The writing profession is unpredictable, with many writers completely broke between jobs. These writers depend on residuals for a stable income. Which brings me to my next point...

3. The more difficult it becomes to make a living as a writer, the fewer brave souls there are who are willing to try and make a go of it. And less writers means less quality television to choose from. Moving on to the specifics...

4. Showing a full, ad-supported episode of Grey's Anatomy online is no different, on its face, than showing a full, ad-supported rerun of Grey's Anatomy on television. To argue that the second example is purely "promotional" is absurd, and the Alliance for Motion Picture & Television Producers has been insultingly unwilling to bargain. If, as they argue, they are uncertain whether new media will prove profitable, why not give the writers - without whose contribution this work would not exist in the first place - a small cut? 2.5% of zero, by their logic, wouldn't cost the producers a dime.

5. Almost 20 years ago, writers got locked into a home movies deal that has cost them, and saved producers, enormous amounts of money since DVDs took off. This strike will, if not right that wrong, prevent a similar injustice.

Or, in a nutshell, "Hey, hey, ho, ho, management can't write the show!"

If you're looking for a good place to get the basics on the WGA's reasons for striking (and screwing up your primetime schedule, which you know they wouldn't do lightly!), click below to see a video they made to fill you in, plus a bonus informative strike video from SNL.