The thing is, as much as I adore the WGA and support them in most things, were you to remove the WGA influence (call it writing, segment producing, or whatever), "American Idol" wouldn't change much, if at all. Sure, Seacrest might stammer a bit when telling viewers which phone number to call, and the judges may need a thesaurus at their desk to look up alternative words for the word "suck." other than that, what are they adding to the show? If the WGA wants to ban guild members from working on the show in any capacity, the union might be able to pull that off, but to claim writers credits seems over the top.
Having watched more than a few reality shows with my mom, I don't feel this way about all reality shows. As fans of the genre constantly point out to me, there is a variety to reality TV. Shows like "Survivor" or "America's Next Top Model" that rely on coming up with activities, locales, gimmicks, and creating dramatic tension where none exists have, I think, people on staff who meet or exceed the definition of a writer. Thinking out loud, "We should have the contestants sing Madonna songs this week" isn't writing. On Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 10:47 AM, Michael <[email protected]> wrote: > > If only this truly meant "Seacrest - out!" Not to mention Cowell out, > Abdul out, Jackson out, etc. > > On Feb 18, 7:40 am, "Mark J." <[email protected]> wrote: >> Of course, Fox viewers won't see it, but in the WGA's continuing >> attempts to organize reality giant FremantleMedia North America, there >> will be pickets outside of the CBS Television City studio for >> tonight's first results show: >> >> http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/02/wga-to-protest-american-idol-.html >> >> As most of you know, Seacrest is still reading intros off of cue cards >> which are scripted by showrunner Ken Warwick or written by someone >> credited a "segment producer" or "creative consultant"--reality shows >> use "story editors" to mold tape into storylines, which is something >> the WGA says is script writing and "editorial consultants" on >> Fremantle's "The Price is Right" write copy for prizes not received in >> exchange for plugs and connecting copy for the Showcases. (In decades >> of work for Fremantle predecessor Goodson-Todman Productions, WGA >> member Dick DeBartolo was credited everything but a "writer," which >> was what he did for them, most notably "Match Game" questions.) > > > -- Kevin M. (RPCV) --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ TV or Not TV .... Smart (TV) People on Ice! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
