According to a Los Angeles Times article, the 100-day writers' strike has finally ended, as 90% of the 3,775 writers who voted made the final decision.Writers showed their power and influence on the industry, as more than 60 shows were shut down as a result of the strike. This was no doubt a costly message for the studios. The Los Angeles economy also lost out on an estimated $3 billion in the process.
The writers were protesting their lack of rights to content used and created on the Internet, but have reached an agreement to increase their revenue from work distributed on the Web. "Rather than being shut out of the future of content creation and delivery, writers will lead the way as TV migrates to the Internet and platforms for new media are developed," Patric M. Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America, West, told the LA Times.
The strike shows the clear trend of media moving onto the Internet, but even during the strike some great Internet content was there for viewers with nothing else to watch.
The new deal should be good for viewers who may now see more episodes available on the Web thanks to the deal. The major networks, ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC, all show full episodes on their Web sites for free, so the future of television seems like it could be as bleak as the future of print journalism. Who wouldn't want to watch episodes on their own time with the ability to pause and watch anywhere they can get an internet connection?
Television journalism is already making it's way to the Internet in part due to the decline of TV.
Just like the decline of daily newspapers, I think TV will go to the web in the near future, but in both cases it won't be the catastrophe some might think if the industries are creative with their revenue and prepared to make the change.
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