By Dannielle Lowe
Last Thursday, I winced as I looked at my clock around 9 p.m. I wanted to cry, but I refrained. Due to a rather little event known as the Writers Strike, my favorite television program is no longer running.
There's only one television show that I really like to watch. I don't have the time to watch a ton of TV.
I mean occasionally, I'll suffer through "Desperate Housewives" with my roommate or laugh through "The Colbert Report." Sometimes if I get home in time, I can catch "Oprah." But it's not like I'm missing vast amounts of great TV because I simply don't watch a ton.
But I'm hurting right now because the one show I do watch religiously, "The Office," isn't on anymore.
This may sound pathetic, but I'm beginning to have Michael Scott withdrawals and I sort of miss Dwight. But most importantly, I'm just sick of watching reruns and crappy reality TV when I do find myself perusing the network stations.
As an occasional TV aficionado, I admire the writers. I support their cause and will continue to do so even if it means I have to wait to find out how the Pam and Jim situation ends. I would encourage those of you who simply don't care about the strike to educate yourselves and begin to care.
We're part of a technological savvy generation. We've watched programs on the network Internet sites. We've watched webisode after webisode. We've bought television series on DVD. In essence, we've helped create this historical event.
And make no mistake, this is a historical event. Anyone who has sat through Media and Society understands the implications this will have on communication history. The decisions made during this strike will help define the new media market that is developing for generations to come.
How much they decide to give the writers and how they decide to pay writers for new media market creations such as webisodes and being able to watch programs via network sites will have a lasting implication.
In case you didn't know or perhaps you live in a box, that is why the writers are striking. They're trying to reach a deal for the new media market in which they receive something that resembles fair compensation for their creativity. Currently writers receive little or no compensation for their contributions.
For example, the writers of "The Office" were asked to write scripts for the television series' web site. The webisodes became a hit. The writers never saw a penny, despite the fact that NBC made a considerable amount of money from the webisodes.
So it's understandable that they're fighting to protect their rights and their future livelihood.
According to "NBC Nightly News," the three-month strike passed the $1 billion total cost point a couple days ago. That figure includes the cost of everyone that has been affected financially from writers to directors.
It's so easy to look at the whole situation and kind of go "hmm, whatever," simply because we are not directly affected so to speak. But in a way we kind of are.
We're losing television programs. Granted, most of these programs are not serving to advance the general public intelligence level. But the overall quality of programming has seemed to hit an even lower low since the beginning of the strike, suggesting the general quality of society and culture may also take a dip as well.
Skeptics fear viewers may not return, that they will turn to other media outlets if the strike does not end soon. Late Tuesday news reports suggested the writers were closer to brokering a deal. But they haven't reached that deal yet.
Why?
Well, because unlike the strikes of the 1980s, today a few large global corporations own many of the major television networks and movie studios. That means these companies can hold out for longer periods of time because the bottom dollar is being slightly affected. The strike really isn't affecting profit margins.
Translation: Other than a fear for a poor broadcast of the Oscars and the impending actor's guild contract expiration in June, they don't have to reach a deal for a while.
And until they do reach that infamous deal, we'll have to settle for crappy TV or actually doing our homework.
So what's the point? The point is you should care. I'm not suggesting we quit watching TV because to be honest that really won't make a difference.
What I am suggesting is that we become informed viewers and intelligent media consumers.
I mean it's just kind of sad that so many people don't even want to understand the situation. Rather, they're just focusing on when their favorite shows will return. And while I commiserate with those who faithfully await programs, I also encourage them to learn about what's going on in society.
We're losing a couple of months of TV, but thousands of intelligent and skilled people have lost their jobs. We don't get to find out which Mc-something Merideth falls for next. But what would be the social implications of a recession without entertaining television?
If you really look at the whole situation, you find that this strike is interwoven with so many facets of life from politics to sociology to economics. In fact it's almost an opportunity to put that expensive education to work. So get out there and get informed. Who knows, maybe you'll learn something.
Dannielle Lowe is a senior staff writer ?for The Beacon
