Prime Time for Reading? Survey Looks at Viewers' Plans During Strike

An impressive 63 percent of participants said they'd support the writers in response to the question: "The dispute between writers and producers is mainly that writers want a share of profits (royalties) when shows they have written are sold on DVD or on the Internet or downloaded to cellphones or other electronic media. Whose side of this dispute are you more likely to lean toward: the writers or the producers?"

Only 4 percent said they'd side with the "producers" -- a.k.a. the networks and studios. A whopping 33 percent said they were not sure.

And 47 percent said writers deserved the largest share of royalty payments -- ahead of actors, producers or directors.

Fortunately for the Writers Guild of America, the Pepperdine study came out the day after actors were asked to join the picket lines with the writers.

Barbara Brogliatti, the spokeswoman for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (a.k.a. the networks and studios), said the study results were to be expected. "It is very hard to keep complex issues at the forefront of the debate when you're competing with the pageantry of celebrity picketers."

Another poll was floating around yesterday, conducted in the Los Angeles metropolitan area by SurveyUSA, which similarly found that 69 percent of adults familiar with the strike support the writers, and that a mere 8 percent were taking the studios' side, while a still large 22 percent were not sure.

Patric M. Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America, West, was ready for his close-up:

"We're gratified by this tremendous show of nationwide support. These polls prove that the public understands what is at stake here. Our fight represents the fight of all American workers for a fair deal."

CUT! That's a wrap . . . .