You state that the studios say they "don't pull significant revenue for downloads," with no countering dialog. Yet, the advertising is there, on the internet, when you download. Are the advertisers not paying for that? And whose definition of "significant" shall we believe?

And please, tell me about a strike that you think was undertaken at exactly the right time. I thought Mark Norman was effective and convincing when he spoke. I notice no one argued his point about the speed with which technology is changing/evolving.

Yes, the writers are doing what they have to do, and have every right to do. And I, as a consumer of the written word, honor them. While it's true that a screenwriter can toil forever and if no one takes those words and "puts them to music" I will never hear them. Conversely, the producers can shake their fists full of money all they want, but unless they have those written words, their profits will never increase.

I hope the writers can hold out as long they need to. If "big money" wins I'll consume the writers' words in ways that do compensate them fairly--I can live without getting that particular product on the internet. If the downloads end up paying them more than DVDS, then I'll download more.

Well there are more than 2300 members of a 13 day oldLiveJournal community called wga_supporters who happen to think that now is the right time for a strike, most of whom are ordinary fans and TV viewers, but there are some WGA members and a few strike captains as well as some below the line people.

You are welcome to join us at

http://community.livejournal.com/wga_supporters/

I think the writers were right to go out immediately after their contracts expired, working without a contract would have just made them look weak in the eyes of these network tools who clearly have nothing but contempt for them and for the viewing public (have you read their comments to the press? These guys clearly think they are 'the smartest guys in the room').

The AMPTP is willing to come back to the tables now, which was not their original game plan, so I think the WGA has proved that they did do the right thing.

If they had waited then I think the plan was to divide and conquer (ie make a good deal with the actors so they will hesitate to support the writers who would get a bad deal). Of course I can't prove that, but it is my opinion.

As a not-quite-typical fan...a long-time TV engineer who amazingly still cares about the medium in which he works...I am fully in support of the strike. If for no other reason than it undercuts all the syncophant talk from the "showbiz gossip" shows.

Instead of gassing about Britney, Leonardo, and all the "yesterday's stars" stuff on The Insider, the public is hearing that entertainment is serious business, that somebody creates the words and the thoughts the actors say, and that those writers are being treated not too differently than Wal-Mart cleaning crews locked into their stores at night.

Unions of all kinds have been attacked and stymied by the megacorporations that run America, and the worst are the megacorps that own all our media production and distribution companies. Those companies influence most of what America thinks and believes through their products, and they largely go unchallenged. Now the writers are challenging them. Imagine that - the writers doing something!

I hope the writers have a successful strike. Then maybe average people can realize that the rich do NOT own their souls, and they can fight for their rights as well.

As a not-quite-typical fan...a long-time TV engineer who amazingly still cares about the medium in which he works...I am fully in support of the strike. If for no other reason than it undercuts all the syncophant talk from the "showbiz gossip" shows.

Instead of gassing about Britney, Leonardo, and all the "yesterday's stars" stuff on The Insider, the public is hearing that entertainment is serious business, that somebody creates the words and the thoughts the actors say, and that those writers are being treated not too differently than Wal-Mart cleaning crews locked into their stores at night.

Unions of all kinds have been attacked and stymied by the megacorporations that run America, and the worst are the megacorps that own all our media production and distribution companies. Those companies influence most of what America thinks and believes through their products, and they largely go unchallenged. Now the writers are challenging them. Imagine that - the writers doing something!

I hope the writers have a successful strike. Then maybe average people can realize that the rich do NOT own their souls, and they can fight for their rights as well.

"Writers are currently paid 1/3 of one cent per dollar received by studios for digital downloads, but the studios say they don’t pull in any significant revenue on downloads either."

No, they aren't. Yes, they do.

Writer's are paid 1/3 of one cent per dollar for DVD sales. They get paid nothing for new media. Furthermore, the studios told their own stockholders that they were making tens to hundreds of millions of dollars on the new media. That amount is projected to go into the billions in the next 4 years.

Is now the right time to strike? You're damn right it is!

If the strike had occurred before the corporations sued over internet use of video clips, that would have been too early.

Since the megacorps have hit hard, self-righteously insisting that free downloads are "stealing" from them massive profits, then now is exactly the right time.

Yes, I think it was time. And I support them 100%.

If there's no significant revenue from online downloads, then there's no harm in giving the writers 3% of it. The studios' incomes won't be notably affected. It'd be a nice token of goodwill, costing nothing but a bit of accounting department time.

It's only if there's substantial income at stake that the producers want to argue about who gets what share.

The time to strike is when the contract is over, and the employees & employers can't reach an agreement about wages & working conditions.

Not when the marketplace has been explored, not when the technology is stable, not when the demographics of the viewers are completely understood... when the workers believe they're not being treated right. That's always been the right time for a strike--and the employers have always replied with, "well, right now, things are iffy. How about you go back to work--under the old terms--until things are less uncertain? We'll get back to your concerns real soon now, we promise."

I fully agree with Lisa B. I've said it once, and I'll say it again: When I watch something online and the writers don't get paid, it's promotional. When I watch something online and the corporations don't get paid, it's PIRACY.

I fully surport the writers in their strike. My experience has been that many of those who say it is not the right time for a strike would never consider working themselves without a contract. The writers have every right to a greater share of the profits from their work. In an industry where so many are paid millions of dollars I don't think the studios can say they can't aford to share the wealth with the writers.

Firstly, you're in error: the writers currently don't earn 1/3rd of a cent per dollar on digital downloads, they earn NOTHING.

And if the studios aren't earning anything, why is Viacom sueing Google/Youtube for $1 billion?

Downloads via iTunes or Amazon are 1.99 per tv episodes, more for movies. The download numbers are substantial. Studios claim it's "too new" and they can't yet tell what the revenue is. Any accounting student would beg to differ: you take what it cost you to re-purpose the material for digital (negligible - usually consists of running the material through a software encoder), and you subtract that from the revenues.

Amazon, at least, provides detailed sales figures to every Tom, Dick and Harry affiliate. I can know how much I make via Amazon within pennies on any day. No one can tell me that their sales figures reported to studios aren't as detailed.

As far as revenue generated by streaming digital content - what were they paid for advertising? Again, it's simple.

The problem comes in when they decide to classify that as promotion rather than replaying/reruns - then the numbers get shifted to other columns in balance sheets. That's just shady.