Dropping the Pencil

The Current Questions of TIME:

How much is content worth in the digital age?

Is content really worth something to the media consumer?

ANSWER - Content is worth quite a bit in the digital age. Now, although some may argue that traditional, whole hearted 'content' is fleeting (to which they would be correct about), does not make content as a whole worthless. It merely depends on what the content is, how it is presented, and what it is intended to deliver. Clever writers will keep up and deliver what the general public wants to see. Reality TV is dying. Aside from MTV, the general public is beginning to get its fill. People are waking up. It is a 'media phase.' More traditional programming, however, such as "Heroes," has been around since the birth of television. And considering the attention spans of the average American TV views re-runs are not going to suffice.

"...the networks and studios are making the depressing bet that "quality" — i.e., original scripts — doesn't matter that much to the market. But who's to say they're wrong? Media consumers are deluged with diversions, many of them free. Even the New York Times couldn't get enough subscribers to sustain a paid online-subscription plan..."

~Time

The networks are making the wrong bet: that they don't need them, and that hoping the writers will bend and come back is inevitable.

It is logical that the writers are thinking about their future. Entertainment is changing, and they're smart to want to change with it.

"...the producers and writers continue playing chicken on a railroad track, with you as the oncoming train. Maybe they'll be right after all, and at the end of the strike, the nation will fall in love with TV all over again. And if they're wrong? Well, there's always Break.com..."

~Time

I brought this topic up in a coffee house this past week. Several of my friends didn't quite understand why and what this, and any other strike for that matter, was about. I had to explain that it's still one of the few very American things we hold on to. These writers see change coming, they want to prepare and make sure they get what's fair. The networks are thinking dollar signs. But it's not like that is a new concept.

Who should be looking for the solution? The networks should find a solution. Since I'm not a financial expert, I can't say what that might be. But I think the writers should be given more credit for the work they produce. Most mainstream entertainment as we know it comes from these guys. And to push them to the side is really slapping the consumer in the face.

I also really want to see "Gigli 2." And that's just not going to happen with the strike.