Strike..Three!
Back for more strike talk—
This story gets more fascinating each and every day. In recent days, the Writers Guild of America leadership has filed labor charges against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television
Producers in an attempt to force studios back to the table.
Most major late night hosts remain on track to return to work next month. In the case of David Letterman and Craig Ferguson of CBS, the WGA may give both shows the go ahead signal.
In the hopes of making some progress in the stalled negotiations, the WGA may talk straight to the studios rather than through the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers bargaining unit.
To further spread the pain of the strike, the production of scripted TV shows in Los Angeles has officially been killed as television programs go dark and have used up the remaining scripts in inventory.
The beginning of the New Year also marks the time of year that awards shows are broadcast. Stars may honor the strike by NOT appearing in these upcoming telecasts and even if they do show up, there’s nobody to write them!
These are just some effects of the strike. Think of all of the production people who are out of work because the studios have gone dark. What’s really painful is that these production people don’t make the kind of money that writers and actors make. For all we know, they could be living paycheck to paycheck.
You also have the Los Angeles economy taking a blow as restaurants, catering businesses, and carpenters have no people to feed or sets to build.
Because of the strike, The Television Critics Association has canceled their January press tour. It’s a major gathering that includes all-day panel sessions showcasing midseason series as well as nightly parties. All those hotels and restaurants will never be able to replace that lost business.
All of this is due because writers and producers can’t come into agreement over fair compensation of material.
As indicated in the past, I believe the writers do deserve fair compensation over the material they write that is distributed in new media venues. However, these venues are just that, new.
Do the writers even know what their fair share of the “pie” should be? Do the producers? Those are some key sticking points.
At the same time, there are some demands that the writers are making that they do NOT deserve.
The writers want full control over reality programming. By its very nature, reality programming is NOT scripted. There is some minor writing that’s done, but my understanding is that this isn’t done by WGA writers, but by editors. The bottom line here is that reality programming is radically different from a fully scripted show.
The WGA is also demanding the right to join in strikes of other labor organizations. In other words, if the directors or actors go on strike, the writers want the right to strike with them even though it’s not about their contracts.
To me, that is simply outrageous. If the writers make a deal between their union and the producers, they have to stick with it. It’s between the writers and producers. You don’t bring other unions into your contract.
The writers are calling it a “sympathy strike.” I call it a lack of good faith. Each union needs to be responsible for their own people and settle their contracts in their own way.
If this strike isn’t settled soon, it could literally change television for good.
The first thing that comes to my mind is that it will finally do away with the traditional television season. I say that because as of now, we are in danger of losing the rest of this season. As the strike drags on, we are in the danger of losing NEXT season too. Early next year is when new pilots start the process of being written and sold to studios. With no writers, there is no new season to plan for.
The writers AND producers need to look at the bigger picture in all this. Because of their inability to negotiate a new contract, thousands of people are out of work during the holidays. Who’s to say these people will get their jobs back when everything is resolved?
The Southern California economy has been impacted at a time when our national economy isn’t doing so well.
Finally, the impact of broadcast television in general may take a long time to recover as people have more choices for their entertainment.
This story gets more fascinating each and every day. In recent days, the Writers Guild of America leadership has filed labor charges against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television
Producers in an attempt to force studios back to the table.
Most major late night hosts remain on track to return to work next month. In the case of David Letterman and Craig Ferguson of CBS, the WGA may give both shows the go ahead signal.
In the hopes of making some progress in the stalled negotiations, the WGA may talk straight to the studios rather than through the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers bargaining unit.
To further spread the pain of the strike, the production of scripted TV shows in Los Angeles has officially been killed as television programs go dark and have used up the remaining scripts in inventory.
The beginning of the New Year also marks the time of year that awards shows are broadcast. Stars may honor the strike by NOT appearing in these upcoming telecasts and even if they do show up, there’s nobody to write them!
These are just some effects of the strike. Think of all of the production people who are out of work because the studios have gone dark. What’s really painful is that these production people don’t make the kind of money that writers and actors make. For all we know, they could be living paycheck to paycheck.
You also have the Los Angeles economy taking a blow as restaurants, catering businesses, and carpenters have no people to feed or sets to build.
Because of the strike, The Television Critics Association has canceled their January press tour. It’s a major gathering that includes all-day panel sessions showcasing midseason series as well as nightly parties. All those hotels and restaurants will never be able to replace that lost business.
All of this is due because writers and producers can’t come into agreement over fair compensation of material.
As indicated in the past, I believe the writers do deserve fair compensation over the material they write that is distributed in new media venues. However, these venues are just that, new.
Do the writers even know what their fair share of the “pie” should be? Do the producers? Those are some key sticking points.
At the same time, there are some demands that the writers are making that they do NOT deserve.
The writers want full control over reality programming. By its very nature, reality programming is NOT scripted. There is some minor writing that’s done, but my understanding is that this isn’t done by WGA writers, but by editors. The bottom line here is that reality programming is radically different from a fully scripted show.
The WGA is also demanding the right to join in strikes of other labor organizations. In other words, if the directors or actors go on strike, the writers want the right to strike with them even though it’s not about their contracts.
To me, that is simply outrageous. If the writers make a deal between their union and the producers, they have to stick with it. It’s between the writers and producers. You don’t bring other unions into your contract.
The writers are calling it a “sympathy strike.” I call it a lack of good faith. Each union needs to be responsible for their own people and settle their contracts in their own way.
If this strike isn’t settled soon, it could literally change television for good.
The first thing that comes to my mind is that it will finally do away with the traditional television season. I say that because as of now, we are in danger of losing the rest of this season. As the strike drags on, we are in the danger of losing NEXT season too. Early next year is when new pilots start the process of being written and sold to studios. With no writers, there is no new season to plan for.
The writers AND producers need to look at the bigger picture in all this. Because of their inability to negotiate a new contract, thousands of people are out of work during the holidays. Who’s to say these people will get their jobs back when everything is resolved?
The Southern California economy has been impacted at a time when our national economy isn’t doing so well.
Finally, the impact of broadcast television in general may take a long time to recover as people have more choices for their entertainment.
posted by Scott Rubens at
9:34 AM
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