Striking TV and Film Writers Return To Picket Line in New York City

Facing dwindling savings accounts, striking television and film writers returned to the picket line yesterday, saying they're eager to get back to work but determined to tough it out until their demands are met.

As the walkout stretched into its 10th week, hundreds gathered in front of the offices of Viacom Inc., including some writers who have seen their shows return to the air without them. One protester's sign urged the media conglomerate, which owns Comedy Central, to "Do the Write Thing."

A 26-year-old writer for "The Colbert Report," Jay Katsir, would not talk about the show, which resumed broadcasting an unscripted version on Monday, saying only: "We need to keep our focus on production companies and getting everybody back at work."

The strikers made themselves felt this week, with Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart back on the air without the aid of scripts or TelePrompTers. On Monday, organizers facing the prospect of a Golden Globes ceremony without any celebrities downgraded the event to a press conference.

Despite weeks with income coming only from the occasional residual check or odd job, those walking the line stayed resolute. "When you walked down the picket line in '88, there was an enormous amount of dissension. Here, there is none," said, a TV and film writer, Terry Curtis Fox,. Asked about rising speculation that the year's entire award season could be in jeopardy, Mr. Fox scoffed at the idea that the Oscars were a precious American institution that should be protected by a union waiver.

"The Oscars are the biggest marketing campaign in the history of the world," he said. "They sell movies. They sell the product of the people we're striking against."

Organizers insist the Academy Awards ceremony will go on, but with the Screen Actors Guild supporting the writers, it seems unlikely that celebrities would attend without an agreement.

An actor who joined the picket line in solidarity yesterday, Matthew Coyle, said that SAG had good reason to get involved.

"Our contract's coming up ... so we're going to be dealing with these exact same issues," he said. "It's not just a writers' issue."

A writer and producer on "Saturday Night Live," Mr. Coyle, said he hoped the union would make an exception for the Academy Awards.

The executive director of the Writers Guild of America, East, Mona Mangan, said: "It's the studios that have to save the Oscars."

The union says it is eager to return to the negotiating table.