Daytime syndicated talk show hostess Ellen DeGeneres has decide to return to work, defying the Writers Guild in its strike against TV and movie producers, studios, and networks. She decided to break the strike after only one day.

DeGeneres said she "loves and supports her writers,’ according to a statement by the Writers Guild of America-East, which vowed to picket her show and urged her to stop appearing for work.

Representatives for the show said DeGeneres’ program is not like the late-night network talk shows that have decided to close down production during the strike, such as The Tonight Show and Late Night with David Letterman. Instead, DeGeneres’ representatives said, her program is more like unscripted daytime talk programs such as The Oprah Winfrey Show and Live with Regis and Kelly.

A statement released by the program’s producers said that the risk to staffers’ jobs was too great:

We also wish to preserve the 135 jobs of the staff and the crew whose livelihoods depend on the show continuing. We regret the Writers Guild has chosen to strike and we wish for a quick resolution.

DeGeneres’ move reflects the clear lack of enthusiasm in Hollywood for this strike. Instead of risking jobs and giving strong verbal support support for the writers’ decision, Hollywood has been very muted in its coments. Producers, studios, and networks, though clearly not delighted at the inconvenience so far, seem to judge the writers as not having a strong position despite the union’s landslide 90 percent vote of support for the decision to strike.

NBC is reportedly contemplating firing staff members of The Tonight Show if Leno does not return to work soon. Alternatively, they have discussed resuming the program with guest hosts.

Evidently the ongoing fracturing of media distribution channels in the United States and elsewhere—one of the main motivations for the writers’ strike—has undermined the writers union’s power in a new media world. That makes this strike very interesting and will make its outcome important and quite revealing of employment trends in the new environment.