Sara Sidner, a journalist at CNN, recently sat down with comedian and TV writer Adam Conover to discuss the ongoing Hollywood writers’ strike, which started early Tuesday morning. Sidner began the interview with a joke, asking Conover, “Since you’re known for ruining everything, is this your fault?” to which Conover replied in good humor, “I’m off the clock right now. We’re on strike, so I’m not ruining anything for the time being, except maybe the profits of the companies.”
Sidner then asked Conover to explain why he thinks the strike is so important and why it needs to happen now. Conover explained that the studios and streamers have been trying to turn television writing into a gig job, resulting in a 23% decrease in writer pay over the last decade, despite a 50% increase in company profits. He further explained that the proposals that were rejected would have protected writers and ensured that they could build a stable life in Los Angeles or New York, preventing them from living in precarity.
Sidner then asked Conover about some of the sticking points of the strike and the demands of the writers. Conover laid out some of the writers’ demands, arguing that they would make television writing a more stable career with guaranteed income.
Sidner then asked Conover about the response from those who run the industry, who claim that times are changing, and they are not making as much money as they once did. Conover pointed out the fact that the CEOs of these companies are making hundreds of millions of dollars, while writers are struggling to pay their rent and mortgages, despite making the shows that are generating profits for these companies.
In a report from March 2023, it was revealed that the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of the network on which the interview was conducted, received an unprecedented $203 million stock option grant, inflating his total compensation package to $246.6 million.
Sidner then ended the interview, jokingly acknowledging that Conover may have gotten her into trouble, saying, “Adam Conover, thank you so much for coming on because you ruined everything. You may have just ruined my career, but I don’t mind. I appreciate you coming on and being very honest and candid with me.”
