Strike two...

Today, I walked a picket line for the first time since the ill-fated Legal Aid strike of 1993. Why am I on strike? Well, as a newly minted member of the Writer's Guild of America, it turns out we're striking because the guild has demanded a very small share of of the income generated from the distribution of content (jokes, drama, etc) over the internet. Just what a small chunk the guild wants is quite astonishing.

How much do you think the writer should get on the sale of a twenty dollar DVD? Pick a number and scroll down below the picture of my friend Randy and I on the line...


My Friend Randy Cohen and I on the line at NBC today

Ok, what did you guess? (leave your guesses in the comments section). The answer is that the writer gets about 4 cents. That's not 4 cents on the dollar, that's 4 cents total. And on internet stuff the producers offer is zero. Low, I think by anyone's standards.

Anyhow, I've got lots of thoughts about the picketing itself, but they'll have to wait for now...