The Strike
"When we were in the 10th grade reading Mark Twain and dreaming about being a writer, none of us were thinking about residuals or payments for DVDs or anything like that, I suppose the reason people should care about this is because the television networks get their broadcast licenses from the government. They are supposed to create public culture. Instead, they are taking the attitude of ‘We will crush you’ toward the people who create their programming. They are talking of canceling scripted programming and replacing it with reality programs. I think that is not in the public interest.” - Greg Daniels, Executive Producer/Showrunner of the Office
The Writer's Guild of America (WGA) went on strike. And it's a huge deal.
For those of you that don't really follow it, here's a great video that explains pretty well to the common folk why the strike is occurring:
You may be saying, but Jon, you want to be a producer, isn't this bad for producers?
Well no. The "producers" are the ones fighting the WGA, but the "producers" are not really the producers of the shows, they're the studios. The producers of shows belong to the Producers Guild of America (PGA). The studios and their cronies consider themselves producers as well though (since they have a hand in getting a show on TV, they're technically a producer), and their guild is the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The AMPTP is not the PGA. The PGA represents individual producers to make sure they get fair wages, health benefits, etc. The AMPTP represents a union of studios. I aim to be a part of the PGA (and for that matter, the WGA), but not the AMPTP.
If there's any confusion on the matter, the creators of shows are generally the "Showrunners." they're generally the Executive Producer and the Lead Writer on a show. Greg Daniels on the Office, Sorkin on the West Wing, Seth McFarlane on Family Guy, and Josh Schwartz on the OC all fall under this category. This creates a huge issue for them. They're part of the WGA, they set the broad storyline arcs for the characters over a season and write some of the episodes. But the AMPTP tells them they must go and produce their shows even though they can not write while the WGA (which they are a part of) is on strike.
The solution is simple, and unanimous. The handful of showrunners in Hollywood held a meeting, and they all agreed to walk out. Technically, it means they could be sued for breach of contract, but they all agree, they're the ones making the big bucks, they can deal with it. The issues at hand is far more important.
A lot of the arguments I've had with people over the last few days (mainly online) have been centered around the gripe that is "but the writers are rich." Wrong. The Showrunners are definitely the richest non-star actor/star directors in Hollywood. They are the top of the food chain for both producers and writers. They make so much more money than the average writers, they could essentially pay their writers' salaries out of pocket (ala Jon Stewart this week). But, the show rests on their shoulders. If a show fails, it's their fault. Most writers never achieve this level of success. Some don't want it, some can't get it. The fact of the matter is, most members of the WGA make less than an average salary in this country. They are really starving artists.
What the WGA is talking about is not ridiculous. Their contract was negotiated in the mid-1980s in an attempt to get the video and TV industries going. They based these contracts on the assumption that the home video market was VHS, and we all saw how that worked, and we all know how well DVD has sold now. Writers are paid $.04 for every $20 DVD sold now. That is unbelievable, and they're asking for a $.04 raise. They want $.08 on every $20 DVD. How can you even argue against that? On top of it, the AMPTP wants the ability to claim that an airing of a show is for "promotional purposes" and not give the writers anything. Download your favorite shows from iTunes? The Office had one episode get 6 million downloads last season, and NBC makes approximately $1 profit off each download, for $6m. The writers got $0, because it was considered "promotional" not a sale of content. The WGA will not stop striking until this is resolved, because it's clearly only a matter of time before the studios start arguing that DVDs are "promotional" (which in some sense they are), or that the original airings of show are "promotional," and thus they never get paid.
Additionally, the WGA is not stupid. They can see that we're shifting toward IPTV (internet television). If it ever occurs (ie cable dies), writers will make no money under the current contract, even for original airings. How ridiculous is that?
The best argument I can make is imagine if musicians weren't paid for song downloads on iTunes, and the studios just kept the money. There would be outrage. Yet somehow when the writers argue the same thing, we get "they're rich, they don't need it." Actually they do.
In addition, in less than 6 months, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Directors Guild (DGA) have the same contracts expiring. It is a foregone conclusion they WILL be striking. The WGA will set the tone for them. If they're able to get a good contract, the studio will have to give those two guilds the same or risk another strike. If the strike is still going on, we will see the three guilds strike together, band together and fight the studios for what's rightfully theirs. It's a disaster for the studios. And it's the biggest change in the industry since the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
What does this mean for you? Get ready for a spring of reality TV.
What does it mean for me? Unless I'm accepted into grad school, I won't be heading into LA until the strike ends. There are simply no jobs out there right now, and with a shift away from scripted TV (aka what I want to do), there's a huge amount of out of work crew people with a lot more experience all dying to get jobs any where they can.
The Writer's Guild of America (WGA) went on strike. And it's a huge deal.
For those of you that don't really follow it, here's a great video that explains pretty well to the common folk why the strike is occurring:
Click to viewYou may be saying, but Jon, you want to be a producer, isn't this bad for producers?
Well no. The "producers" are the ones fighting the WGA, but the "producers" are not really the producers of the shows, they're the studios. The producers of shows belong to the Producers Guild of America (PGA). The studios and their cronies consider themselves producers as well though (since they have a hand in getting a show on TV, they're technically a producer), and their guild is the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The AMPTP is not the PGA. The PGA represents individual producers to make sure they get fair wages, health benefits, etc. The AMPTP represents a union of studios. I aim to be a part of the PGA (and for that matter, the WGA), but not the AMPTP.
If there's any confusion on the matter, the creators of shows are generally the "Showrunners." they're generally the Executive Producer and the Lead Writer on a show. Greg Daniels on the Office, Sorkin on the West Wing, Seth McFarlane on Family Guy, and Josh Schwartz on the OC all fall under this category. This creates a huge issue for them. They're part of the WGA, they set the broad storyline arcs for the characters over a season and write some of the episodes. But the AMPTP tells them they must go and produce their shows even though they can not write while the WGA (which they are a part of) is on strike.
The solution is simple, and unanimous. The handful of showrunners in Hollywood held a meeting, and they all agreed to walk out. Technically, it means they could be sued for breach of contract, but they all agree, they're the ones making the big bucks, they can deal with it. The issues at hand is far more important.
A lot of the arguments I've had with people over the last few days (mainly online) have been centered around the gripe that is "but the writers are rich." Wrong. The Showrunners are definitely the richest non-star actor/star directors in Hollywood. They are the top of the food chain for both producers and writers. They make so much more money than the average writers, they could essentially pay their writers' salaries out of pocket (ala Jon Stewart this week). But, the show rests on their shoulders. If a show fails, it's their fault. Most writers never achieve this level of success. Some don't want it, some can't get it. The fact of the matter is, most members of the WGA make less than an average salary in this country. They are really starving artists.
What the WGA is talking about is not ridiculous. Their contract was negotiated in the mid-1980s in an attempt to get the video and TV industries going. They based these contracts on the assumption that the home video market was VHS, and we all saw how that worked, and we all know how well DVD has sold now. Writers are paid $.04 for every $20 DVD sold now. That is unbelievable, and they're asking for a $.04 raise. They want $.08 on every $20 DVD. How can you even argue against that? On top of it, the AMPTP wants the ability to claim that an airing of a show is for "promotional purposes" and not give the writers anything. Download your favorite shows from iTunes? The Office had one episode get 6 million downloads last season, and NBC makes approximately $1 profit off each download, for $6m. The writers got $0, because it was considered "promotional" not a sale of content. The WGA will not stop striking until this is resolved, because it's clearly only a matter of time before the studios start arguing that DVDs are "promotional" (which in some sense they are), or that the original airings of show are "promotional," and thus they never get paid.
Additionally, the WGA is not stupid. They can see that we're shifting toward IPTV (internet television). If it ever occurs (ie cable dies), writers will make no money under the current contract, even for original airings. How ridiculous is that?
The best argument I can make is imagine if musicians weren't paid for song downloads on iTunes, and the studios just kept the money. There would be outrage. Yet somehow when the writers argue the same thing, we get "they're rich, they don't need it." Actually they do.
In addition, in less than 6 months, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Directors Guild (DGA) have the same contracts expiring. It is a foregone conclusion they WILL be striking. The WGA will set the tone for them. If they're able to get a good contract, the studio will have to give those two guilds the same or risk another strike. If the strike is still going on, we will see the three guilds strike together, band together and fight the studios for what's rightfully theirs. It's a disaster for the studios. And it's the biggest change in the industry since the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
What does this mean for you? Get ready for a spring of reality TV.
What does it mean for me? Unless I'm accepted into grad school, I won't be heading into LA until the strike ends. There are simply no jobs out there right now, and with a shift away from scripted TV (aka what I want to do), there's a huge amount of out of work crew people with a lot more experience all dying to get jobs any where they can.