Right Now and Tomorrow

Ask a young man to name his favorite TV show and I guarantee you he’ll need a minute to come up with anything at all. The least loyal TV viewer is the 22 year-old guy and when you lose him, it’s only a matter of time before you lose everyone else too.

And what’s worse: people in this business aren’t stupid. Or blind. They see it all happening before their eyes: the changing economics, the squeezed margins, all of it. But we’re all powerless to stop it, because the system is so incredibly lucrative. For now.

It’s the earthquake mentality: yes, we know deep down that the earth beneath us is unstable; we know that freeways will collapse, houses will tumble. Los Angeles is a city designed for disasters of all kinds – fires, floods, quakes, Lindsay Lohan, you name it – and yet, we stick around. Because right now, we’re making money. Right now, the checks are still clearing.

Read the rest of screenwriter and columnist Rob Long on the General Motors 1973 mentality.

UPDATE: While you're at it, read his "Three-Bean Salad" story and think about the entertainment biz. Is the Internet the equivalent of Wal-Mart?