So you say you don't understand the WGA strike...

Well...being writers, they have a blog. Imagine that. New media.
And they even posted some videos explaining their position. Also in new media.
Here's Damon Lindelof (that pesky Lost show) and Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives) stating their case:

Here's Greg Daniels and Paul Lieberstein from The Office. Damn they break the issue down in an easy manner.

If you need a more personal angle, might I suggest the anecdotes from Mark Verheiden's blog.

After all of this, I actually feel bad for having purchased shows via iTunes.
I promise I'll only steal shows until writers get a fair deal.