Hollywood writers strike - BBC News Review

The Hollywood writers' strike.

Could your favourite shows stop? This is News Review from

BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.

And I'm Beth.

Make sure you watch to the end to learn vocabulary to talk about this story.

Don't forget to subscribe to our channel, like this video

and try the quiz on our website.

Now, the story.

US TV networks can't show some of their most popular programmes

from this week as writers strike.

It's all about pay and conditions, which have been hit by the rise

of streaming services. Writers are also worried

about the possibility of scripts being written by AI.

You've been looking at the headlines, Beth.

What's the vocabulary?

We have gig economy, sparks and reruns.

This is News Review from BBC Learning English.

Let's have a look at our first headline.

This is from Associated Press News.

Hollywood writers, slamming 'gig economy'

go on strike.

So, this headline tells us that Hollywood writers are slamming,

that means heavily criticising, something called the 'gig economy'

and 'gig economy' is the expression

we're looking at first.

It contains the word 'gig', which can mean concert.

Yes, it can.

So, it can be a show by a musician or a comedian.

Now, for them, it's a job

and that's the meaning that we're talking about here.

Yes. So, gig can mean job. But, in the same way that a show by a comedian

or a musician can be just one night, when we use gig to talk about work,

it refers to short-term work.  

That's right. And it's this idea of a single job that lasts for a very short time

that gives us the expression 'gig economy'.

So, the gig economy is a system where people have to keep looking

for short term jobs all the time.

Yes. So, we use 'gig economy'

quite a lot to talk about the kind of taxis or food delivery services

you get on digital platforms. And when people use this expression 'gig economy',

they are highlighting the lack of job security,

compared to more traditional jobs.

Yes. And getting back to our story,

this is what the writers are concerned about.

They're using this expression to mean

that their working conditions are getting worse.

Let's look at that again.

Let's look at our next headline.

This is from LBC.

Blockbuster bust-up: Hollywood writers' union sparks industry chaos

with first strike in 15 years

amid streaming row.

So, a blockbuster is a very successful film, a bust-up is an argument.

This is the first writers' strike in Hollywood for 15 years.

The word we're looking at from the headline is 'sparks'.

Now, a spark is something you get, for example, from a cigarette lighter.

Yeah. And now 'a spark' is a very small flame.

You can get it from banging two stones together or from a lighter.

The important thing is that it can start a fire.

Yes. And that's where this metaphor comes from.

If one thing sparks another,

it makes it happen.

So, for example, this strike in Hollywood will spark, or make, lots

of problems and chaos happen

in the film industry.

Yeah, and 'spark' can also be used as part of a phrasal verb

with the preposition 'off'. One action can 'spark off' another.

So, for example, a disagreement could spark off an argument or a fight.

Yes, but spark doesn't have to be followed by something bad

all the time. For example,

this programme might spark your enthusiasm for English.

Let's look at that again.

Our next headline please. This is from Financial Review.

Reruns loom as Hollywood writers strike.

So, something 'looms'. That means something bad threatens to happen

as a result of this strike. The word we're focusing on,

though, is 'reruns'.

Yeah. Now, 'reruns' are

TV programmes that are shown again.

We can also call them 'repeats'. Now, because the writers are on strike,

TV networks are having to show the same programmes again –

they've already shown them.

Yes. And we can break this word down.

It's made up of 're-' which is the prefix,

which means 'again', and 'run' can mean 'a series'.

Yes. And we have been talking about the noun 'rerun',

but we can also use it as a verb.

So, for example, if we are talking about a process or a competition,

'rerun' means to do it again.

Yeah. So, perhaps there was something wrong with the competition –

it was badly run. It needs to be done again.

It is 'rerun'.

Let's look at that again.

We've had: gig economy – job market of short term work,

sparks – causes

and reruns – old programmes, shown again.

Don't forget there's a quiz on this page.

Thank you for joining us and goodbye.

Bye.