Persistence pays off, though. The recently posted Lost webisodes are being held up as an example of a victory for the cause, a potential model for the two sides of the strike to examine.

Edward Wyatt of the New York Times explains the competing demands and conflicting reports on what the writers and producers are fighting for in Webisodes of Lost: Model Deal for Writers?. He also points out that the two sides of the strike can, with some effort, land on the same page:

The “Missing Pieces” episodes were produced under an agreement with the writers’ union that provides for much of what the writers say the studios have been refusing to offer.

The “Missing Pieces” episodes were written by the regular writers of the television series, a group that includes Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, executive producers of the series, who also oversaw production of the webisodes. They also feature the show’s regular actors and characters, including Matthew Fox, who plays Dr. Jack Shephard. ... The writers, actors and others involved in the production were paid specifically for their work on the Web episodes and will earn residual income, just as they do for the broadcast show.

The deal that could be the harbinger of future Guild contracts took five months to hammer out. The writers got $800 bucks and up to two percent of future profits. $800 bucks. And the webisodes represent the very kind of dubiously profitable content that is the kernel of truth behind the the studios' outrageous claims that digital distribution is a vast unknown.

So the Lost webisodes are unlikely to make anyone rich. Laserdiscs didn't make anyone rich either, which probably made it easy to dismiss the cash cow that are DVDs. The writers can't make that mistake again.