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Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: Just on the Web

Stephanie Ogozaly

The WGA is a labor union that represents American writers on both coasts working in the "motion picture, broadcast, cable and new media industries." In other words, the WGA represents almost every creative mind behind the entertainment you enjoy. If there is a script behind it, there is a writer behind it - and behind that writer is the WGA. Right now, the WGA is on strike and writers will not be producing any new content for the studios, which has caused a major halt in production.

The WGA strike does not just affect the striking writers. It affects almost every other aspect of the entertainment industry as well, ranging from directors to actors to crew members. Many crew members will lose (or have lost) their jobs because of the strike.

So, why are the writers striking?

The writers are striking against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), an organization that represents the interests of production companies and studios. AMPTP assists the companies and studios in negotiations with unions. Currently the WGA and AMPTP are arguing over many key issues, but the most important demand the writers are making is for proper compensation for "new media" content.

"New media" content is mainly Internet-based content, such as websites, blogs, interactive television, podcasts, etc. For example, writers of the NBC show "The Office" produced ten webisodes (episodes of a TV series that air exclusively on the Internet) for the studio. The writers even won an Emmy for their webisode work, but they did not receive any compensation from the studios. Why? NBC/Universal deemed the Internet-based content as "promotional" material.

Today you can buy movies and episodes of TV series off iTunes or even stream episodes of television shows on the network/studio websites for free. All of these are considered "promotions" by the studios, despite that it is the same thing you receive on your television and is supported by ads. Every time you watch a television show online legally, the studios make money but the people who actually created what you are enjoying do not.

But how much do writers make in the first place? For every dollar that the studio makes, a writer will make two-and-a-half cents. For every DVD you buy for $19.99, the writers will make four cents from that sale. These are called residuals - money a writer will make even if they are not currently employed by a studio or network. Forty-eight percent of WGA members are unemployed at any given time and residuals are not getting them rich - this money is merely holding them over (paying for health insurance or pensions, etc.) until they get another job.

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