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September 7, 2008 7:27:00 AM CDT

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Hollywood Writers on Strike

Posted Nov 5, 07 6:08 AM CST in Business,  Arts & Living,  US 

(Newser) – The first Hollywood writers strike since 1988 began early this morning when union representatives walked out on talks with studio negotiators after 11 hours at the bargaining table. Both sides expect the strike to be long, expensive and debilitating. "Once it starts, it's going to get ugly," a writer told the Los Angeles Times.

Late-night programs dependent on current events, such as "The Tonight Show" and "The Daily Show," will immediately switch to reruns or be replaced. Soaps and daytime talk shows, which have about a week of material stockpiled, will be hit next. The 22-week walkout by writers in 1988 cost the entertainment industry an estimated $500 million. Writers are demanding a bigger share of DVD and new-media profits.

Sources Los Angeles Times, CNN

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Picket signs lie in a van at the Writers Guild of America headquarters Sunday, Nov. 4, 2007, in Los Angeles. Hollywood writers were back at the bargaining table Sunday in a last-minute push to avoid a...   (Associated Press)
People load picket signs into vans at the Writers Guild of America headquarters Sunday, Nov. 4, 2007, in Los Angeles. Hollywood writers were back at the bargaining table Sunday in a last-minute push to...   (Associated Press)
People load picket signs into vans at the Writers Guild of America headquarters Sunday, Nov. 4, 2007, in Los Angeles. Hollywood writers were back at the bargaining table Sunday in a last-minute push to...   (Associated Press)
Writers Guild of America members Lowell Cauffiel, bottom left, and Monique Matthews, bottom right, talk before attending a WGA meeting at the the Los Angeles Convention Center to discuss contract negotiations,...   (Associated Press)
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Hollywood  • Hollywood writers' strike  • Writers Guild of America  • DVD  • Tonight Show  • The Daily Show  • The Colbert Report



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