Television Writers on Strike

 Frustrated: I can’t find my favourite TV show.

Writer: Television writers are on strike.

Frustrated: So, what? It’s a television show. They use cameras and lights.

Writer: Writers write what you see . You like the writing.

Frustrated: Didn’t know that. 

We don’t know much about television production because of television stars. We know them. We love them. We hate them. That’s why we worry when we don’t see them on television for a few days.  You miss Trevor Noah as host of The Daily Show, but you cannot name a single writer, and there are more than 15. 

Now we know about writers because the Writers Guild of America is not in the studio. Television writers are on the street, striking for better pay and artificial intelligence (AI), that is being ‘intelligent’ by using their work, but does not pay them, the original content creators.

Historical Ignorance about Writing

Writers are unsung heroes. They are usually poor because what they do is not valued. People who write for television have stories to tell how they got to that level. Parents did not understand why they wanted to write. Write what? In social gatherings like parties, other guests drift off if you say you’re a writer. Funny enough, you become elevated to leaves on top of a palm tree if you write a best seller.

If you’re lucky, it will be made a movie, but authors seldom write the screenplay. Terry McMillan, author of Waiting to Exhale, is one of the few writers, who also wrote the screenplay of their book. She did it with a co-writer.

Writing for television is special writing. It’s not only writing words but crafting them for a certain medium. What writers do is profitable for studios. That’s why they must improve writers’ salaries and other income studios make from the internet.

Frustrated: I can’t find my favourite TV show.

Writer: Television writers are on strike.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.