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December 2, 2008 11:42:29 AM CST

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60% of Viewers Favor Writers Over Studios

Posted Dec 19, 07 1:52 PM CST in US 

(Newser) – The sympathies of viewers affected by the Hollywood writers' strike lie squarely with the writers, not the studios, a new poll shows. USA Today reports that 60% of Americans side with the scribes, and only 14% with their erstwhile employers. Reactions to the strike are varied: Many viewers watch more reruns, more reality shows, and/or less TV in general.

Viewers of late-night shows, the first programs hit by the strike, were split in their reactions to the strike: Roughly equal numbers say they watch other shows, go to bed earlier, and read instead of watching TV. Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien are set to return to air in January without their writing staffs, dealing a blow to the strike.

Source USA Today

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Writer Sherwood Schwartz, 91, center, who created, wrote and produced The Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island, along with his children, Lloyd Schwartz, 61, Ross Schwartz, 58, right, Hope Juber, 51, background-center,...   (Associated Press)
Thousands of Writers Guild of America (WGA) writers and others in the fifth day of their strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) in a rally at Fox Plaza in Los Angeles'...   (Associated Press)
Jay Leno of NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" greets supporters of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and others on the picket line in front of Universal Studios in Universal City, Calif., in this...   (Associated Press)
Thousands of Writers Guild of America (WGA) writers gather to march down Hollywood Boulevard Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2007, in Los Angeles on the 16th day of their strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture...   (Associated Press)
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Hollywood • Hollywood writers' strike • Jay Leno • late night talk show • Conan O'Brien • television watching


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