The WGA strike is continuing without relief in sight. A lot of people don’t really know what it is about, and I’ve been a little surprised by the number of people who have made comments about rich, greedy writers. This is weird to me. Are there really that many people laboring under the misconception that writing is a lucrative career?
Here’s a short film by the union that explains the basis for the strike, and what the union is trying to get for its members. Yes it is biased, but it is also honest.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ55Ir2jCxk]
One telling point in all this is that the producers/networks/studios are pretending that the Internet is just a huge billboard. They treat all new media distribution — from web episodes to streaming content — as “promotional material,” therefore paying little or nothing for the scripts, acting, and so on. As television and movies converge with digital delivery, more and more people use their Internet connection instead of cable, making it imperative that writers (and later this year, actors) get new contracts.
Mark Evanier has worked as a screen writer for a long time, and has some interesting observations on the strike (one – two – three – four), while these comments from a Metafilter member give a good synopsis of the numbers involved and how a screenwriter actually gets paid (one – two) and another writer puts in a view on salaries.
I wish the writers well, and I hope the strike ends soon, with a fair contract created.
UPDATE:
Derek Powazek weighs in, saying the writers don’t get it, either, and that web content should not be treated the same as older distribution methods. Marc Andreesen, on the other hand, sees this as a a potential crisis moment for old media.
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I won’t pretend to know any of the specifics of this strike, but it seems to me that there is no difference between this industry and any other.
The little guy does all the work. The big corporate giant gets all the credit, makes all the $$ and pays the little guy as little as possible.
Why is this any different than the factory worker for a designer label who gets paid $6/hr. for making jeans that then sell for $200?
An architect doesn’t make anywhere as much as the builder and developer who takes those plans and then builds a high-rise condo and sells the units for millions more than the architect made.
I also heard on MSNBC that the entertainment blogs are not posting anything new until the strike is over. Although they do not receive money from their readership, they are doing it as a show of solidarity with the WGA. I think it’s a great gesture of support.