After a break for the holidays, WGA strikers kicked off the new year with some major moves on and off the picket line.

Last fall during the first week of the walkout, I focused a blog post on a small group of scriptwriters picketing in front of NBC at Olive and Alameda avenues.

Fast forward two months to Wednesday, Jan. 2, when I joined some other WGA strikers on a much larger picket line at the same location to get the latest perspective on a bitter labor dispute that has become one of the biggest entertainment stories in recent memory.

A long line of eager fans showed up to see the first "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" since members of the WGA went on strike and hit the bricks on Nov. 5. Some of the Leno hopefuls appeared to be surprised, amused and a little confused by the more than100 picketers marching in front of the "Tonight Show" studio entrance.

Several times, picketer Guy Stevenson grabbed a bullhorn and pleaded their case to the "Tonight Show" audience.

"TV writers can't afford this strike ... but we're in it for the long haul," he said. Stevenson was a writer on Fox's "Mad TV," but is now doing some teaching and working as a bar bouncer.

There have been rumblings and rumors that the Guild's unity is cracking under the stress of the prolonged negotiations and the financial losses. The picketers I spoke with admitted times are difficult, but "most writers are united ... this strike was forced on us," said Keith Kaczorek, a WGA member since 1991 and a freelance writer on NBC's "Las Vegas ."

The negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) were tumultuous from the get-go with nasty accusations and charges from both sides.

Then on Friday, Dec. 7, the talks imploded when WGA negotiators, led by David Young, reportedly refused to acquiesce to an ultimatum to take some of their proposals off the table. The response from the AMPTP team, spearheaded by veteran negotiator Nick Counter, was to walk out of the bargaining session.

Those proposals involved animation, reality TV, and some other issues, but make no mistake, the battle ground in this labor duke-out is new media - how much writers will be compensated when their work goes to DVD or on the Internet.

The major studios are claiming there isnot much money in new media just yet. The writers respond with something to the effect, okay fine, we'll take a share of what is there now and some of what we believe will be there in the future.

On the picket line many say they are living day to day. Christmas was downsized for picketers like Charles Song. "No Christmas presents" or visit to his parents in Korea. "$1,500 for a ticket ... that's a month's budget." Song explained.

He worked on the animated TV sitcom "Family Guy." Song is a below-the-line crew member who also belongs to the WGA. When I asked him how long he would walk a picket line he said, "Until the strike is settled."

Not every WGA striker I approached wanted to answer questions. I started a conversation with a woman on the picket line, but she was promptly dragged away by another female picketer who told her not to talk to "them." I gather "them" means the media.

Speaking out about the strike and the hardships faced by writers and others is a risk that not everyone is willing to take. I respect that. Still, interviewing people directly affected by the strike is one of the best ways to gauge its impact.

The WGA focused on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" for three straight days before resuming picket lines at the other major studios on Jan. 7. TV hosts Leno, Conan O'Brien, and Jimmy Kimmel resumed production without their writers on Jan. 2.

David Letterman and Craig Ferguson hit the airways on the same night with their scribes, because Letterman's Worldwide Pants company owns both late night talker shows and was able to reach an interim agreement with the WGA.

Since then Jon Stewart,Stephen Colbert and Bill Maher have returned without writers forcing them to be extremely creative in the production of their shows. Also, Jay Leno got into a fracas with the WGA for reportedly writing his own material. Leno is a WGA member and covered by rules governing what writers can and cannot do during a strike.

There have been other developments as well. Organizers of the Golden Globes were not able to get a waiver from the WGA, so the awards broadcast was turned into a star-less, writer-less news conference, which was soundly panned by the critics and the viewers.

However, the NAACP Image Awards was granted a WGA strike waiver and will go on as scheduled February 14 th with writers and celebrities. In a press release, WGA-West President Patric M. Verrone said the waiver was granted, "Because of the historic role the NAACP has played in struggles like ours..."

Meanwhile, ABC Studios, Warner Bros. TV, Universal, Fox TV and other big mediastudios have dropped writer and producer deals, blaming the WGA strike. The number of deals lost are fast approaching 100. The cost to writers is said to be in the millions of dollars.

On the theatrical side, several independent production companies have signed interim agreements with the WGA: among them United Artists, Media Rights Capital and the Weinstein Company.

By far, the biggest deal to shake up the entertainment industry this year is last Thursday's announcement of a tentative contract agreement between the AMPTP and the Directors Guild.

The contract reportedly provides gains in new media as well as an improved residual formula for downloads, all issues WGA writers want addressed in their negotiations. Many observers credit the WGA strike as a factor in the directors getting a deal that Gil Cates, chair of the DGA's negotiations committee, called "... groundbreaking and substantial..."

Shortly after the DGA deal was made public, the major studios extended an olive branch to the WGA. Eight big media honchos signed a joint statement that said "... we invite the Writers Guild of America to engage with us in a series of informal discussions similar to the productive process that led us to a deal with the DGA..." This statement is dated Jan. 17 and was posted on the AMPTP website.

On Tuesday, January 22, WGA negotiators responded to the invitation by issuing a public statement agreeing to meet for informal talks Wednesday. In a letter to the membership, WGA Presidents Patric Verrone and Michael Winship announced the union proposals involving reality TV and animation were being withdrawn - apparently as a good-faith gesture to the studios.

Also, the striking writers were told there would be no WGA picket lines at the Grammy Awards. However, no word on whether WGA writers would be allowed to work on the Feb. 10 event. The membership letter was posted on the pro-WGA Web site United Hollywood.

Also on Tuesday, the 80th Academy Awards nominations were announced amid growing concerns about how the writers strike could rain on this Tinseltown tradition.

The Grammys may escape the full force of the writers strike, but apparently that will not be the case for the Oscar glitz and glamour kudocast planned for Sunday, Feb. 24. Yet another major reason for the studios to make a fair deal with the WGA and to do so quickly.

Check back here for updates.