The lessons of the writers' strike

As I try to get kids to see the power of writing, I often hark back to the period of the Writers' Strike, when those clever talking heads on the big shows had nothing to say, because it was never them talking to begin with...

The digital stories they create are "mini-"films, and like [almost] any film, they begin with the script, the work of the writer.

Ira Glass' wonderful pieces about his maturing as a radio producer, inspiring as they are, are still vague as to what the difference is between his early ramblings as a reporter and his recent ramblings as a star. I wanted to know what changed in his writing process, or in him as a writer, to hone the work.

I can't find the YouTube piece right now, here's a long interview...