What Would A Writers’ Strike Mean?

If Hollywood’s screenwriters go on strike, as they have said they will in the absence of a new contract, TV viewers will be inconvenienced. But the impact on the industry could be much more severe. “During the last Hollywood writers’ strike in 1988, a five-month impasse over residuals – payment for shows and films that aired in perpetuity – nobody won. Writers were out of work for half a year; production support workers – caterers, gaffers, crew – were, too; networks had to push their fall schedules back to mid-winter; viewership dropped by 10 per cent. Enter a fragmented media universe of cable TV; some say it never recovered.”