Game of politics compensates for writers’ strike

For over two months network TV executives have been squaring off with the writers that help make the programming what it is.

Everyone knows this, and everyone knows the big-bad business people are cheating the writers out of residual payments, basically pay for episodes the writers contributed to that are being sold over new-media avenues such as network Web sites in the form of streaming video or iTunes downloads.

The writers get a percentage of DVD sales for their work, so why shouldn’t they get a cut of the advertising revenue being generated during online broadcasts?

Many programs currently are only being aired as reruns. This might bother most people, but it doesn’t bother me that much.

I want the writers to get paid fairly for their work, but there are other programs I enjoy.

For example, the news is still showing new episodes every day.

Really.

It is a great show, and it is very funny as well.

After all, where else can you see a presidential candidate cry?

That’s comedy even the great Johnny Carson could have never come up with.

Brilliant.

Politics are funny. The mudslinging, name calling, convictions and platforms that continually seem to change with the changes in audiences and the exhausted demeanors of candidates hot on the campaign trail. These things are funny.

Why? Those people chose to put themselves through such rigors. No one forced them. In fact, watching them from day to day as they attempt to win the hearts of as many American voters as possible is almost as good as “Scrubs,” and we all know how I feel about that show.

American politics is reality TV at its best. One never knows who is going to do what wacky thing on any given day. And the coolest part is they aren’t confined to a certain area. These TV stars are free to roam the country and take part in a variety of shenanigans.

Now, I realize all the campaigning is vital in helping us elect a new leader of our country, and I enjoy debating with friends and family about who should and is going to be our next president.

But writers couldn’t have scripted things to be more humorous.

Personally, I like to turn the exposure of the politicians into a bit of a game. I count the circles under each candidate’s eyes. The long this game show carries on, the more circles.

This game is very applicable to making money and having fun. A group of friends could get together and place bets on each candidate. Not about who is going to win the election of course, but about who is going to come in with the most wear-and-tear on his or her physical features.

This could also be done with changes of opinions about hot-button issues.

Fun, right?

Of course, the best part about the political entertainment unfolding before us is that it has been going on forever.

I haven’t been a voter for that many years, but the process does seem to be starting earlier and earlier.

That’s not a bad thing necessarily. After all, if it wasn’t already if full swing, what would there be to watch on TV?

Thanks for striking, writers. You allowed me to see the greatness that is democracy in action.

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About toddvogts 850 Articles
Todd R. Vogts, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of media at Sterling College in Kansas. Previously, he taught yearbook, newspaper, newsmagazine, and online journalism in various Kansas high schools, and he ran a weekly newspaper in rural Kansas. He continues to freelance as a professional journalist from time to time. Also, Vogts is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), the Journalism Education Association (JEA), and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), among others. He earned his Master Journalism Educator (MJE) certification from JEA in 2022. When he’s not teaching or writing, he runs his mobile disk jockey service and takes part in other entrepreneurial ventures. He can be reached at twitter.com/toddvogts or via his website at www.toddvogts.com.