Re reality shows - I don't watch the ones that are on now, the hits, but the three long-running shows I worked on (Totally Hidden Video, Penn and Teller's Bullshit, and Cowboy U) were very much put together by their writer/producers. The structure (remember, there's no structure without someone making structure), the voice overs (in the case of Bullshit and Hidden Video) made the shows what they were, etc - all written and structured - the way reality pieces are edited - all scripted and structured by writers who've viewed hundreds of hours worth of tapes.
When I left Totally Hidden Video just prior to their final season, because after two-and-a-half years they asked me to take a salary cut because there was no management at Fox, I said that was unacceptable, and I told them they had no appreciation or even knowledge of how important what I did on that show was. They smirked. As I left, I told them they'd find out and that they'd be off the air within the first twelve episodes of the new season. They smirked. They were off the air after six shows because they got people who worked cheap but who didn't understand the mechanics of how to make the show work and what it took to do so.
That said, the money that I made on that show was incredible. No complaints at all and that was back in the early 90s. The money I made on Bullshit was excellent - no complaints. The Cowboy U money - excellent, no complaints. The only time I felt I was underpaid was when I show ran Tricks Of The Trade - that money was a little under what I was used to, but it wasn't bad.
Now, maybe it's worse on network TV (all by stuff has been for Fox or cable), but I don't see how that's the case. However, not all writers on these shows choose to be called writers - some simply take the producer credit, as I foolishly did on Bullshit. Had I not, one of the other producers and I would have shared in its Writer's Guild award, since we did at least half the writing on the show.
