but....
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2008/01/15/grammy-wga.html?ref=rss
Grammy Awards show threatened by writers' strike
Last Updated: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 | 6:03 PM ET
CBC News
The Grammy Awards, the U.S. music industry's big blowout, are set to become the next casualty of the Hollywood writers' strike.
A spokesman for the Writers Guild of America, representing film and TV writers who have been on strike since Nov. 5, said Tuesday it will likely bar its members from writing for the Grammy telecast.
Grammy organizers haven't asked for a waiver allowing writers to work on the show, but if they did, it is unlikely to be granted, said WGA spokesman Gregg Mitchell.
The announcement comes just days after another awards show, the Golden Globes, second only to the Oscars in glitz, was reduced to a bland news conference because writers were barred from working for the Sunday night telecast.
The Academy Awards face the same dilemma.
The U.S. Recording Academy had no comment on news that it might need to go ahead without writers.
The WGA has not said whether it will picket the event, scheduled for Feb. 10.
Meanwhile, the major U.S. studios are settling in for a long strike.
Beginning last Friday, five American TV networks cancelled dozens of contracts, laying off producers and directors, as well as writers on the picket line.
Trade publication Variety reports more than 75 people have been laid off since Friday at Warner Bros. TV, CBS Paramount Network TV, Universal Media Studios, 20th Century Fox TV and ABC Studios.
Most of the staff affected are writers, producers and directors who are developing ideas or waiting for new projects.
The studios may be ending contracts on the theory that many new shows won't be needed because of a backlog of undeveloped material. They also will save money.
The WGA objected to the layoffs, saying the networks may ultimately miss the talented staff they have let go.
Members of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are "alienating the very creative force that has made entertainment one of the most successful businesses in the country," the union said.
The writers are striking to get a deal for compensation for their work when it is broadcast over the internet, cell phones or other electronic media.