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Should Striking Writers Get Involved in the Web?

According to a recent Los Angeles Times piece (link: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-webwriters17dec17,0,4998256,full.story?coll=la-home-center ), writers in Hollywood are trying to sidestep the need for Big Media's marketing and distribution power by creating Web media ventures with Silicon Valley venture capitalists. Bad move, at least right now, because precious few pieces of original content on the Web make any money.

Even so, former Hollywood professionals are partnering with big online companies like MySpace to trudge through these uncharted waters. Better them than the writers, because the development of a sustainable revenue model may take longer than the VCs have patience for, leaving the writers out of luck.

It's a pity that the "no-risk-and-all-reward" studios are still treading lightly into new media. Part of the problem is the current state of advertising innovation related to Web videos is quite nascent, which means it will be a long time before Big Media's investments pay off. That said, the content needs to come first, and then the audience before advertisers follow.

Read the whole story at BoomTown/D: All Things Digital »

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