I am cautioned by the strikes a few years ago. Many writers were fired and producers went with reality TV. Suddenly you had a plethora of shit shows occupying TV time that needed very little writer guidance. Bare bones scripts that could be written by high school kids.
I’m also reminded of the strikes of the late 40’s and early 50’s against the anti-communist paranoia as the Senate HUAC went after Hollywood writers like a wildfire. For political reasons mostly, top writers like Dalton Trumbo were black listed from working in Hollywood ever again. This guy was so good, he won two academy awards for best screenplay (Roman Holiday and The Brave One) while working under fictional names. Kirk Douglass and Otto Preminger finally went against the studios and allowed him credit for Sparticus and Exodus, respectively. But what a waste those years of blacklisting represented. Film quality certainly suffered.
Even though I don’t watch a lot of American entertainment TV, I do see amazing writers, even in shows I hate for other reasons. Like @Strauss and @Coloma say above, writers are the backbone of all the stories depicted in film, there is no story without them, and they deserve to be paid as much or more than those who are dependent on direction and technology to bring that story to life.
I would like to hear what guys like Seth Macfarlane have to say about this.