Exploring the Blogosphere: Post Strike Implications

Now that the writer's strike has finally come to a close, the topic of where television goes next is on many peoples mind. Clearly, the strike led to many unhappy viewers, so many have speculated as to the long term impact, as well as what changes studio executives might make to prevent the issue from reoccurring later on. The issue was wide spread and effected thousands both in the industry and around it, so I decided to take a look at a few different entertainment blogs discussing the strike's aftermath. The first post that intrigued me was "Getting Ready for 'The Endless Season,'" written by The New York Times' media and advertising blog TV Decoder contributors Brian Stelter and Stuart Elliott. This post specifically highlighted NBC and the changes being made to the process in which the network decides on what shows to produce and when to produce them. The second post I decided to comment on was "Hollywood Punches Back in As Strike Ends," from the entertainment blog Eyez on Hollywood. This post provided a more personal look into the strike, utilizing quotes from writers themselves on their return to the office. Both entries provide unique insights to television's future in the wake of the writer's strike.

"Getting Ready for 'The Endless Season,'"
Comment:
Brian and Stuart,
I appreciated reading this interesting blog entry about just one of the potential industry implications of the end of the writer's strike. As a general TV fan, any thought that this long drought of new shows could eventually lead to a more continuous stream of new content is definitely encouraging. What is most interesting to me is the overall excitement put forth by the marketing people regarding this new arrangement. While its understandable that a fan would be excited by the proposition of more shows, its intriguing to see so many business people so on board with the schedule overhaul. It seems like there are numerous reasons why this change is beneficial for most involved, so I can only question why this didn't occur earlier. It seems that a constant flow a new programming would keep audiences happy, the studio rich and producers with new content. I fear that the only answer to this is the unfortunate fact that the industry is ultimately run by money. Its understandable that a set schedule focusing on the fall season may be over time more profitable for executives, but it would be nice to see many higher ups realizing that the recent strike may have been caused by this unfortunate greed epidemic throughout entertainment today. Perhaps the money lost during the strike will help to show that the fan has just as much impact as the advertisers. Its encouraging to see NBC make this move, which is hopefully just the first of many changes that will prevent a strike from returning.

"Hollywood Punches Back in As Strike Ends"
Comment:
This is a very fresh and fascinating look at the end of the writer strike. Searching through other industry blogs, few had the personal look into the writer's reactions to finally returning to work after so long. Clearly from many of the comments, the transition back to full time work won't be easy, but its encouraging to hear the many efforts to force shows back into production. The excitement of the writers is palpable and what I was perhaps most excited about was one of the last comments from writer Phil Johnston where he said, "The dirty little secret is, I suspect, people have been working much of this time." While its no huge surprise that the strike did not simply lead to all writer's going on vacation, the idea that many were still working brings up many questions concerning the potential future of television. If so many talented writers have been writing for months without deadlines or industry executives over their shoulder, one might assume that quality of the content might be greatly improved upon return. In a time where too many shows look, sound and act like the next, it is refreshing to imagine a television landscape littered with new and previously unharvested ideas. While there is no way to tell which way television will grow in the aftermath of this momentous event, your insight into the personal reactions of those most directly involved intrigued me regarding the promise of the future.