!Viva La Huelga!

Long live the writers! I hardly ever disagree with Mariel Garza, but...The current strike may seem self-destructive, as so many writers probably seem to most civilians—or as the Trades call them “Non-pros.” However the strike is about something. I know it may seem to be adversarial, but It is really about continuing a partnership between writers and producers.

Now most writers—for papers, news and opinion don’t get residuals. We write. We sell. We reap our small rewards. Many papers and magazines do not even allow us to reprint our own materials or collect a new fee if a piece is collected in an anthology.

Fiction writers would seem to have all the luck—getting new fees when shows are re-run. But what about when a show is re-marketed in another medium? What should happen when the show written for ABC goes to cable, or to the internet or the iPod? The producers continue to sell the product and profit, but the writers get nothing. Does this seem fair?

The system of residuals creates a partnership that shares both risk and benefits between the producers and the writers. A single fee system does not distinguish between the flop and the meg-success. A large fee up-front would be a wasted investment in a flop. But a relatively modest fee up front and shared bounty of a hit makes writers work at their best, share the risk and share the rewards.

If the show doesn’t go to syndication, no residuals. If no one downloads it, no fee. Residuals really create the ultimate market-based meritocracy. Why if I had a nickel for everyone who read this, why, I’d have a nickel.