Um. Well, if the 'truth universally acknowledged' line hadn't been written by a writer you wouldn't have been able to ask this question.

Though whether you 'needed' to is a whole other kettle of worms.

I rather suspect that the US media industry is finding out right now how much they 'need' writers to survive. Admittedly we are not talking about a subsistence culture in Hollywoodland itself, but they have to get the necessary coffee and stimulants from somewhere.