TV on Strike - (Television and Popular Culture) by Cynthia Littleton (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

TV on Strike examines the upheaval in the entertainment industry by telling the inside story of the first writers' strike--the hundred-day writers' strike that thwarted Hollywood in late 2007 and early 2008. The television industry's uneasy transition to the digital age was the driving force behind what seemed then to be the most significant labor dispute of the twenty-first century. Now, in 2024, we know it was only the first battle.

The strike put a spotlight on how the advent of new media distribution platforms reshaped the traditional business models that governed the television industry for decades. The uncertainty that sent writers out into the streets of Los Angeles and New York with picket signs laid bare the depth of the divide between the media barons who rule the entertainment industry and the writers who are integral as the creators of movies and television shows.

With both sides afraid of losing millions in future profits, a critical communication breakdown spurred a fierce battle with repercussions reverberated in the 2023 writers and actors strikes. The saga of the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike is told through the eyes of the key players on both sides of the negotiating table and of the foot soldiers who surprised even themselves with the strength of their resolve to fight for their rights in the face of an ambiguous future. In the years since the strike ended, the rise of digital distribution platforms has continued to change the business landscape in ways that few could have predicted when Hollywood guilds were first feverishly trying to hammer out a contract template for a new era.

Review Quotes

A detailed, thorough, and unbiased report and analysis of the themes and events that pushed the entertainment industry into an unwanted but unavoidable labor dispute which will have ramifications on the industry for decades.-- "Robert Broder, Chuck Lorre Productions executive Television and Popular Culture"

Every day Cynthia shows us how smart and well-informed she is with her reporting. What we didn't know is just how compelling a storyteller she is! If you are in the entertainment industry or aspire to be, this book is a MUST READ page turner.-- "Warren Littlefield, TV producer and former president of NBC Entertainment"

Littleton gives a detailed, lively account of the three-month strike, providing valuable context about the parties and their complex interests.-- "Choice"

Profiles of key players in the strike provide an emotional resonance and drama to the story....This well-researched book is for followers of the entertainment industry and students of media studies or labor history.-- "Library Journal"

Readers interested in a detailed, objective conveyance of the myriad people, circumstances, and interests involved in the WGA strike of 2007 should find plenty of material to satisfy themselves.-- "Journal of American Culture"

About the Author

Cynthia Littleton is co-editor-in-chief of news development at Variety and coauthor of Season Finale: The Unexpected Rise and Fall of the WB and UPN.