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Editor's Blog

 (November 8th, 2007 - Editor)           I have been a professional television reporter and critic long enough that I witnessed and wrote about the last writer's strike. That dispute devastated the television industry for the 1988-89 television season and far beyond. Careers crumbled both in front of and behind the camera as the networks and independent production houses were forced to shut down a multitude of shows for more than 5 months. In the end, after a bitter strike that cost the industry more than $500 Million, an agreement was reached that was not very far from where the two sides were when negotiations had broken off. I have to think that had both sides agreed to stay at the bargaining table and tough it out, there would have been an agreement much earlier and at a much lower cost. This time out, the cost estimate for a strike of similar length is more than $1 Billion. As of Monday, picket lines were being formed and productions were being shut down all over Los Angeles, where nearly 200,000 people are employed by the television industry.

            Negotiations for a new contract between the Writer's Guild Of America (WGA) and The Association Of Motion Picture And Television Producers (AMPTP) began in July and continued with little headway through the end of October, when the union served notice to the producers that they were in a legal strike position and had received a strike vote from their membership. AMPTP president Nick Carter asked the union to remain on the job while negotiations continued, but when talks broke off on November 5th, the union set up pickets at several major production houses.

The two sides deadlocked over writers' demands for an increase in "residual" fees they earn when their film and TV work gets reused in DVDs and Internet downloads. They also sought new fees on original material written for the Internet, cell phones and other digital formats. The writers want an increase in their royalty on each DVD sold from the current 4 cents per copy to 8 cents per copy. To put this in context, the total annual revenue from DVD sales in the US last year, according to Price Waterhouse Coopers, was $24.4 Billion. The members of the WGA West were paid $56 Million in royalties, or 0.02% of sales. The union estimates the deal they are asking for to cost $70 Million per year, or 0.025% of sales.

            The union ultimately withdrew its demand for higher DVD residuals, when studios called the issue a roadblock to any further progress. According to the WGA, the negotiating group representing producers have refused to offer any kind of Internet compensation, as they say the technology is too new and has not yet generated any profit.

            What is needed in this dispute is for both sides to be interested in the well-being of the other and acknowledge that each is unable to be successful at their job without the other. In a collaborative town like Hollywood, you would think that a simple fact like that would be clear to everyone. It is asking a lot in the entertainment industry, but both sides need to check their egos and get down to the business of talking to each other about the issues. If both sides continue the way things are going now, the entire industry will suffer for a very, very long time.

  - Editor - 

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