Maybe I wasn't clear. Public opinion is important to the corporations. I mean they have to appear to be really super duper disgusting to the the public to reach the care threshhold.

But they don't. It's an incredibly easy spin to blame greedy writers. It's more complex to explain that it's ridciulousness on behalf of the corp.

I agree. I also think the Tonight Show staff was fired, not because NBC is in a panic, but to influence public opinion, i.e. "Look what the greedy writers have made us do!"

I agree. I also think the Tonight Show staff was fired, not because NBC is in a panic, but to influence public opinion, i.e. "Look what the greedy writers have made us do!"

But frankly, this hasn't happened. I don't sense people buying the "greedy writers" meme anywhere in any great numbers, and the various polls all seem to bear me out on this.

I do think public opinion, public support, matters hugely. I don't know that there's been a successful strike in practically ever where it didn't matter.

I may have already asked this, but is there an organized letter-writing campaign under way? To specific studio heads or network heads or big advertisers? I wrote a shitload of letters during the actors' strike and I was shocked at how many at least semi-personal responses I got, especially from advertisers, full of "The issues are of course very complex" weasel-words but with an undertone of real worry that they were getting flak not just from the strikers but from fans, that their public images were being tarnished by their unwillingness to back down.

I know there's a postcard drive being run by someone (which I stupidly failed to bookmark), but IME actual letters get a better response. I'd be happy to start cranking them out again if I knew where they should go.

Heh. We should have Buffistas.org letterhead for our many angry letters. But, we'd have to vote.

Victor, anecdotally I'm looking at the TVGuide letters and "trolls" at the UH site and Nikki Finke's blog. I don't think all of the naysayers are "trolls." I think some are honest dissent.

I've spoken to more than a few folks, and have overheard quite a few conversations in airports that pretty much reduce the issue to the following, "I went to watch my TV and the show I want to watch isn't airing a new episode because of the god damned writers."

Yeah, I wrote before how I told somebody about BSG suspending production, and their response was "Fuck the writers". To which I had the discussion about, you know, no writers, no show. They weren't interested; they just wanted their entertainment back.

The names and addresses of studio heads are online, if anybody wants to write letters. I don't know if anybody collated the advertisers or not. I know there's also phone numbers for pretty much every studio head online, to the point where they've had to start changing the phone numbers and hiring extra staff to filter calls.

Personally, I still believe the public support is generally in the way of the writers - but I'm not convinced it really matters either way.

Oh! ita!

Has anyone mentioned this prize in the pencil drawing?

For EUREKA fans: One supportive fan will receive a phone call from Colin Ferguson (Sheriff Jack Carter) and co-creator Jaime Paglia, personally thanking them for their support. Make sure you list Eureka as the show you are supporting when you click on the icon.

Has anyone mentioned this prize in the pencil drawing?

Think I should support this way? I totally want...well, not that Jaime guy. He could be an ax murderer.