• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, November 9, 2007

Trying to market your mid-season shows? Better have lot lots of on-air time to promote them, because fewer TV writers may be writing about them.

The January Television Critics Tour might be cancelled - some collateral damage from the writers' strike.  Does this mean TV writers will write fewer stories about new TV shows - or for that matter, even older TV shows?

This would all make sense since in theory there will be fewer mid-season shows. But by all accounts, from the likes of Fox, which has no fewer than seven new mid-season shows, there would seem to be something to talk about.

Network executives say they don't need a winter critics' tour  - not when they have to spend about $250,000 to $500,000 per network for that event.  

Do networks need TV critics less than they know?  Is the blogsphere enough of a publicity outlet?  The leadership of the TCA believes viewers need to be "serviced," and that can only come from the newspaper critics  -- who also do their own share of blogging.

Still, there is plenty of news to talk about in regards to the strike - but the networks would rather not be asked the tough questions. Any excuse to walk away from demanding TV critics -- as well as saving a quarter of a million dollars -- is an easy decision.

If little changes in regards to new mid-season shows or ratings performance, then the bigger question needs to be asked:  How much do they need TV critics to sell shows?

Networks would argue they have plenty of spin to dole out -- especially during the summer critics tour, which is a bigger affair when the networks talk up many fall season debuts, offering up lots of talent and producers to talk to.

But all that is slowly changing. Daily newspapers are finding it harder to justify the expense of sending reporters to Los Angeles for multiple weeks. And networks are finding other events more important to release news - like Comicom, the comic book convention turned purveyor of new and hip in entertainment.

The writers' strike may ultimately be good for networks - but not good for writers who cover TV .