WGA Strike - a little history

[maygra]

Doris Egan has written an amazing post about the writer's strike, but also about writers in general, that looks at the nuts and bolts of the strike, but also of the value of writers and writing not just as an art form, but as a profession and a calling. For those of you not familiar with her work, I highly recommend her as a regular read (although she posts infrequently). She's a screenwriter as well as a novelist and a fan. She's also a delightful person and an insightful observer. Mostly, she's good people.

to live by the pen (long post warning)

Comments

[geminigrl11.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing this.

Also, is your icon one that could be shared as well?

[without-me.livejournal.com]

I know this is a shareable icon--I got it from wga_supporters.

[geminigrl11.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much!

[maygra.livejournal.com]

I believe so. I think I got it from the wga_supporters site

[siberian-skys.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link, Maygra, I'm looking forward to reading this.

[mischief5.livejournal.com]

I went, I read, I commented. Thank you, Maygra, for the link. Bless you.

[baileytc.livejournal.com]

Doris's post is lovely. Did you see the reports about Michael Eisner, former CEO of Disney, calling the strike "too stupid" in a recent speech at the Media and Money conference? He says the studios "have nothing to give" and that the writers should wait three years until the new-media business model is proven.

I work in new media. Believe me: There is money to be made from online video. There is already money being made from online video. The studios don't need three years to figure it out. The Internet industry moves so fast that three years is an eternity.

The WGA can't afford to give in on these issues. I know that the strike hurts many non-writing crew members, who will be or already have been fired because production is shutting down. But their unions will be fighting for the same issues when their contracts expire; first up is SAG, the actors' union, whose contract expires in July, so it's no wonder that so many actors are supporting this strike despite the personal costs.

So there won't be any new non-reality TV/non-news TV for a while. ::shrugs:: For me, that means pretty much no TV at all. I'll have time to catch up on my reading...and my own writing. When the media conglomerates are willing to compensate writers fairly for their work--and it IS work--then I'll be back.

[gretazreta.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the link. It was good to read such humane and insightful writing about the strike on the day when Gov. Schwarzenegger stepped in to try and resolve things, stating publicly:

"The studio executives are not going to suffer, the union leaders are not going to suffer, the writers that are striking, they are not going to suffer. Those are all people that have money."

*shakes head* - it sounds to me like he's not negotiating a solution, he wants the writers to suck it up. Sure the strike is going to impact the wider economy of the region - but the whole reason that we have unions is so that the good of society isn't based on the oppression of those without any political power. Theoretically speaking. Big business fought like mad about being forced to stop orphans working in the mines, also.

[kalikahuntress.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link:)