Devoted to show business and the entertainment industry

While the strikes in the auto industry are real, for the most part they're being conducted to move things forward quicker, rather than there being contention and a big distance between the United Auto Workers and the auto companies.

The same can't be said the Writers' Guild of America (WGA) and the television studios represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP).

The major sticking point in these ongoing negotiations are what writers should receive for the new media platforms their content is being shown across. The technology has moved things so fast that the writers and studios don't have any compensation measures in place concerning things like the Internet and mobile platforms.

The Writers Guild is looking to strike as early as November 1 if negotiations don't get anywhere before then.

Of course studios have been preparing for this for some time, with moving a lot of scripts through the pipeline and putting aside money to ride out a strike.

The problem to me still seems to be there aren't any measurable results and data that can be used as a base to work from. The industry is still working out what type of model will work going into the future. They have to fear giving away too much before making concrete decisions that could undermine the financial health of the industry.

While things are in motion, as far as trying Internet ad models especially, it will be some time before a pattern emerges negotiators can rely on.

The Writers Guild members obviously feel they're being cheated by not getting residuals for work on other platforms. The problem is there really isn't much in profits yet at all, even though ad revenue is starting to be slowly realized.

It's difficult on both sides because the changing industry hasn't caught up to the point where concrete evidence can be used to talk from. Negotiations are based upon the unknown, which makes this so difficult to deal with. The simple and straighforward understanding of issues from the past are no longer part of the equation.

While a strike would hurt the television industry in the short-term, at the same time, if too much is given to the Writers Guild, with no idea if it can be afforded by the studios, it could be devastating to the industry. Either way, there is a lot at stake for everyone involved.