November 27, 2007
The Writers Strike: Good For Candidates, Bad For Voters
When the Writers Guild of America launched its nationwide strike four weeks ago, The Gate sort of joked that the extended hiatus for late-night talk shows and political satires would spell doom for Washington. But now that it's been nearly a month since the last new "Daily Show" episode, we're starting to get nervous... seriously.
With the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses and Jan. 8 New Hampshire primaries rapidly approaching, the presidential campaigns have shifted into high gear. And with at least eight debates scheduled between now and Christmas, the media's coverage of the campaigns has reached a fever pitch. Meanwhile, the candidates and those responsible for covering them in the press are going about their business free from the scrutinizing eyes of Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and "Saturday Night Live." That's not just bad for comedy -- it's bad for democracy.
Political bloggers and media watchdogs may do their best to give voters an informed and alternative perspective on the race to counteract the tightly controlled information coming from the campaigns and the sound-bite obsessed take of the mainstream media. But TV satirists are particularly valuable because they are able to appeal to a much broader audience than in-depth Wall Street Journal analyses and "Frontline" specials can.
"The Daily Show," in particular, has been sorely missed for its equal-opportunity skewering of candidates on both sides of the aisle and, perhaps more importantly, the MSM's coverage of them. It'd be nice to see "TDS" writers take on the Clinton vs. Obama narrative, the Bernard Kerik indictment and the Mike Huckabee boomlet the way they lampooned the media's fixation on race and gender issues earlier this year.
But all of those stories and many more have been allowed to slip through the cracks without so much as a peep from the nation's court jesters over the past several weeks. And despite their claims of solidarity with the writers, particularly on the Democratic side, it's hard to imagine a single candidate who isn't at least subconsciously grateful for the hiatus. (ABC News' David Wright sees it a little differently.)
That said, there are real issues at stake in the WGA strike. Negotiators for film and television writers and major studios resumed serious talks on Monday in what the Los Angeles Times described as "an accelerated effort to end a strike now in its fourth week." Writers and producers are demanding more royalties from DVD sales and online broadcasts of their shows and films. Since talks broke down in early November, they have held fast to that position as studios have equally stood firm against it, but the Times reports that concerns about the bottom line have begun to temper the arguments and spur both sides to action.
In addition to the late-night talk shows and some daytime programs, scripted soap operas and prime-time dramas and comedies could begin to fall into rerun mode in the new year if the dispute is not resolved by then. In a new FOX News/Opinion Dynamics poll, a majority of Americans said their favorite shows have not yet been affected by the strike. Nearly two-thirds said they are siding with the script writers in the dispute, not the studios. A survey of Variety subscribers also shows that "the scribes are, thus far, winning their case in the court of public opinion -- even as many biz insiders predict the strike will ultimately be settled in a way that favors the major studios."
Until that settlement comes, comedy writers are not letting their principles get in the way of their creativity. "Late Show with David Letterman" scribes are posting their comic musings on the Web now, while "Daily Show" and "Colbert Report" writers have taken to YouTube. And then there's this. (Hat tip: Defamer)
The Los Angeles Times, Hollywood Reporter and Variety are continuing to cover the strike in depth. Meanwhile, there's another writer's strike on the horizon that could affect the presidential candidates in a more direct way, by derailing CBS' Democratic debate planned for next month.
Graphic: Reuben Dalke; Photo of Jon Stewart at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on Nov. 17, 2007: Rick Gerrity
Posted at 4:50 PM
Posted to:
Campaigns, Economy, Media, WH 2008
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