Being a TV writer has changed — and so have the wages, says 'The Wire' creator

https://www.npr.org/2023/05/25/ [login to see] /tv-writers-strike-the-wire-david-simon-negotiation
It's been more than three weeks since Hollywood writers went on strike, sending late night comedy shows and soap operas into reruns, while scripted shows with longer turnarounds are braced to feel the effects of the walkouts.

David Simon, who created shows like The Wire and Treme, says that many of the fundamental issues that led to the 2007 writer's strike are at stake here – like how technology is reshaping the profession.

"They are now telling us, 'We don't know what AI is; we don't know how good it's gonna be; let's not litigate what AI can and can't do,'" he says. "They did the same thing in 2007 when it was streaming."

Simon is a member of the Writers Guild of America's negotiating committee, which, until the strike began this month, had been negotiating with the studios over a new contract.

In a statement, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers – which negotiates on behalf of the studios – says it offered "generous increases in compensation" to the writers. It calls some of their proposals "incompatible with the creative nature" of the industry.