Could news see a boom due to a writers strike? It may not be so easy…
Variety reports that networks are stockpiling their long-form news shows to fill network schedules, should no contract agreement be reached by midnight tonight and writers go on strike. But… the reality is that many networks have drastically reduced newsmagazine production. For example, this fall, ABC took “Primetime Live” off the schedule; NBC only airs one episode a week of “Dateline,” which once upon a time aired five times a week and CBS cancelled “60 Minutes II.”
It may get even tougher for CBS news, which has a scheduled strike vote on Nov. 15 for its guild newswriters, who have been working without a contract since 2005.