Writers Strike 2008
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Female
39 years old
BROOKLYN, New York
United States
Last Login: 2/12/2008
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Writers Strike 2008's Details
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| Status: | Single | | Zodiac Sign: | Virgo | | Occupation: | Writer |
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Writers Strike 2008's Latest Blog Entry
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IT’S OVER!!!
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WGA - East Informally Approves Deal
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Deal Points Published as Membership Meets
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Deal Points Reported
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Seems Some Folks Don’t Feel Like Celebrating
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Writers Strike 2008's Blurbs |
About me:
There are over 10,000 current members of the Writers Guild of America - East and West. On October 31, 2007, the Guild's Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA) expired. When negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (the AMPTP) over the MBA reached an impasse, the WGA voted to strike. On November 5, 2007, the 2007-08 Writers' Strike thus began.
The dispute between the WGA and the AMPTP centers on so-called New Media. The WGA proposed that writers receive 2.5% of distributor's gross for new-media sales and distribution, including internet streaming. For months, the media conglomerates comprising the AMPTP refused to even address this proposal, insisting that New Media, including web content, is "too new" for them to be able to effectively discern its value. Meanwhile, Viacom sued YouTube for $1 billion over the illegal posting of clips of Viacom programs on the video hosting website.
This page is not intended to provide a comprehensive history of the strike thus far, but is instead aimed at clearing up some prevalent misconceptions concerning the strike. Likewise, it is not aimed at writers and other insiders, but at concerned fans and viewers.
For more comprehensive information concerning the strike, please visit the following websites:
WGA - West
WGA - East
United Hollywood - United Hollywood advocates for working people in the entertainment industry facing the digital revolution.
Deadline Hollywood Daily - a blog maintained by LA Weekly journalist Nikki Finke with breaking infotainment news
WGA Stike Rules - check here for answers as to what precisely WGA members are prohibited from doing during a strike
List of Struck Companies
Writers Guild Foundation - Industry Support Fund - this fund assists (non-writer) members of the industry who are in financial distress as a result of the strike
FAQ
Who is the AMPTP?
The acronym AMPTP stands for Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. This is a bit of a misnomer: the AMPTP is not comprised of individual "producers" - it is instead comprised of large media conglomerates that control almost all mainstream media content. Included among these conglomerates are the following entities: General Electric (which owns both NBC and Universal), the Walt Disney Company, Time Warner (which owns Warner Brothers and part of the CW network), Viacom (which owns Paramount and the other part of the CW network), CBS, and the New Corporation (which owns the Fox network).
I heard that writers make an average of $200,000 per year - is this true?
This completely false rumor comes from Nick Counter, the chief negotiator for the conglomerates. In reality, the writers of the WGA have made an average of $62,000 per year over the past five years, and largely in the difficult and expensive markets of New York and L.A.
In fact, according to the website of the WGA - West:
"46% [of writers] did not even work last year. Of those who d[id] work, one quarter make less than $37,700 a year and 50% make less than $105,000 a year."
Residuals (from reruns, syndicated episodes, etc.) hold writers over during the often long periods between jobs. For example, a writer may work steadily on a given series for several years, but after that series is cancelled (or otherwise ends it run), that writer may not find steady work again for several months or even years.
Why did the late-night hosts return while the strike continues?
This is a complicated question without a simple answer.
All of the late-night shows are Guild shows (meaning: they hire Guild writers, who are currently on strike). All of the hosts but Carson Daly are themselves members of the WGA.
The WGA recognizes that certain individuals may have multiple roles, e.g., a person may be both a producer and writer, a director and writer, etc. Such persons are called "hyphenates." Hyphenates are permitted to continue performing their non-writer roles during the strike, but are not permitted to continue writing.
The conglomerates believe that the hosts can continue their role as "hosts" and "producers" without actually writing. The theory is that the hosts can interview and ad lib without the aid of previously-prepared (i.e., "written") material. Thus, the conglomerates "forced" the hosts back on the air in early January.
How did the conglomerates "force" the hosts back to work?
The conglomerates have many tools at their disposal to put pressure on the hosts. For example, they could threaten to cancel shows, threaten to fire the hosts, threaten to fire members of the late-night staffs (who are mere pawns in this dispute), etc. Whether or not you agree with their choice to return to work, the hosts were in a difficult position: they had to balance their loyalty to their union and fellow writers against their loyalty to their staffs (not to mention their own jobs).
What constitutes "writing"?
There is a lot of confusion concerning what is the precise definition of "writing." The WGA has specific rules concerning what members can do during a strike, which you may view by clicking this link: Strike Rules.
While the rules clearly were not written with late-night hosts in mind (and thus their application to late-night tv is debatable), it appears that the intent of the rules is that there will be no new creative content. Previously prepared (i.e., before the strike) scripts are okay. Pure improv/interviewing with no preparation may be okay. But preparing new content is not.
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