Welcome Back, Writers!

On Tuesday, February 12^th, 2008, the third Writer’s Guild of America strike ended after 14 weeks and two days (100 days). Although this makes it the shortest WGA strike, it still felt like an eternity to those devoted television watchers who had to endure week after week without their favorite show(s).

The 2007-2008 WGA Strike was actually a strike made up of two different unions. The WGA East (WGAE), which represents film, television and radio writers working in or around New York City, and the WGA West (WGAW), which represents film, television and radio writers working in Hollywood and southern California. Over 12,000 writers joined the strike, which began on November 5^th, 2007. The cost of the strike is still under debate. NPR filed a report that estimated the loss at $1.5 billion. The UCLA Anderson School of Management estimated the cost at $380 million, while economist Jack Kyser’s estimation was $2.1 billion.

The previous strike in 1988 lasted 21 weeks and 6 days, costing the entertainment industry about $500 million dollars, which is equal to $870 million today.

The strike was against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), a trade organization representing American film and television producers. There are eight corporations in the AMPTP that are the most influential: CBS, MGM, NBC, News Corp/Fox, Paramount, Sony, Disney and Warner Brothers.

Negotiators for the writers reached a tentative agreement on February 8th, and the boards unanimously approved the deal on February 10th. The writers voted on February 12th on whether to lift the restraining order, and 92.5% voted to end the strike. Most writers returned to their keyboards that very same day. The writers will vote again later in February on whether to accept the new agreement.

Networks are now deciding on what to do with their different shows. For example, ABC’s Lost has five pre-strike episodes remaining to air, and five more are expected to be aired in April and May. Their fledgling hit Pushing Daisies, however, isn’t expected to air any more episodes until premiere season in the fall of 2008. For more information on the fate of your favorite shows, visit TV Guide columnist Michael Ausiello’s Strike Recovery Chart.

What shows are Ursinus students looking forward to having return? “I’m glad Lost isn’t getting gypped any more than it already was,” said senior Psychology major Brittany Fernandez. “We already had to wait nine months; only seeing six episodes after that kind of a wait would be really bad.”

Of course, not everyone currently has pre-strike episodes to keep them entertained. Senior MCS and Theatre major Grey Johnson can’t wait until April 10^th when NBC’s The Office begins airing six new episodes. “I was curious [about] where they were going to go with [the story],” said Johnson.

Though Spring Break is in March, most students will be more eagerly looking forward to April when they can once more enjoy an hour with their favorite cast of characters in the fictional world of their choice.