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This was submitted by Thania St. John, WGA member since 1988. For some additional historical context, we recommend also reading this post from Michael Russnow. There was a green envelope in the mail Friday. A good one. Good enough to take away a little of the sting. But after my husband and I rejoiced for a moment, we realized how much larger that check would’ve been if the show that I now
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  • A New Game In Town

    Submitted by Thania St. John, WGA member since 1988. In his now-famous piece "Suicide by Strike," Marc Andreessen pointed out in November that by denying writers (and actors and directors) a fair share of New Media, the corporations were beginning the process of making themselves obsolete. Basically, he says it's a pretty bone-headed thing for them to do, all to save a few cents on the dollar. -

  • Michael Russnow: Let's Have a Formula That Is Meaningful

    Former WGAw board member Michael Russnow has been covering the strike on his personal site and recently began blogging "The Writers Strike for Dummies" on the Huffington Post. In his most recent entry, Russnow discusses the importance of setting precedents for compensation on the Web. We believed the AMPTP when they cajoled us to accept the cable deal in 1981 with the understanding that when they

  • Links Roundup for Wednesday:

    Former WGA board member Michael Russnow talks about strike issues and residuals, bringing in historical context to the discussion of New Media.
    http://ramproductionsinternational.com/WGAStrike.aspx

    Support from across the pond:
    http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2239812,00.html

    Roger Wolfson in HuffPo: The stakes are higher than anyone's admitting.
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

  • The Last Act

    This was contributed by Thania St. John, WGA member since 1988.

    We did it. We accomplished the impossible. We got the AMPTP back to the table and finally received a counter-proposal to the one we made them so many months ago. The deal they made with the DGA is the first true sign of negotiation they’ve shown since we started asking them to do so back in July.
    That, my friends, is a great victory

  • Lessons From 1988

    This was submitted by WGA member Robert Eisele, who was present for both the strike in 1985 and the longer strike of 1988.

    "Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it."
    -- George Santayana, 1905

    In 1988, writers endured a strike of nearly six months. In 2008, we are now approaching the halfway point of the length of that strike.

    Although most Guild members in ’88 stood strong

  • What Fi-Core Really Means

    This was submitted by WGA member Michael Seitzman, who is currently blogging on Huffington Post as well.

    I read news today of Writers Guild member John Ridley's decision to go Financial-Core to protest the Writers Guild strike. I was angry and dismayed and my original post on the issue was full of that vitriol. I thought an edit was in order so as not to let the message to get lost in a war of

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    On one side of the table is me, all of 25 years old and determined to get a good deal for my employers. On the other side is a man who owns several properties that the show I’m managing wants to use. A private alley. A closed bank. A hallway leading to the fire escape over the alley. And the

  • John McNamara: A Fair Deal Is Worth the Cost

    John McNamara sent this letter to leadership, and submitted it to us to reprint. McNamara is a TV writer/producer whose credits include The Adventures of Brisco County, Profit, Lois & Clark, Vengeance Unlimited, The Fugitive, Eyes and Jericho.

    He is currently writing haiku.

    On January 14th, my overall deal at CBS/Paramount was terminated. So this is actually my two cents... plus hundreds of

  • From Joss Whedon: Do Not Adjust Your Mindset

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    Dear Writers,

    I have good news. I have lots of good news. In fact, I have way too much good news.

    The strike is almost over. A resolution is days away. Weeks. Friday. Valentine's day. Two weeks exactly from whenever my manager/agent/lawyer told me. Yes, after talking to writers and actors all over town, I'm happy to report that the strike

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    This article was submitted by WGA member Michael Arkof. It runs today in Writers: On The Line, a weekly print newsletter distributed at picket locations.
    AND A CHILD SHALL READ THEM

    Sabrina Batchler didn’t write the book on supporting the WGA strike, but she is reading one. Lots of them, actually. The eleven year-old is conducting a Read-a-thon to raise money for the Writers Guild Foundation, to

  • The Writer and the Gun -- How The WGA Is Being Rewritten

    This was submitted by WGA member Michael Seitzman. It also appears in the Huffington Post.

    A producer once told me that when the writer is working, the script is the gun that holds everyone else hostage. When the writer stops typing, he hands the gun to the producer and director and immediately joins the other hostages against the wall.

    On November 1, 2007, The Writers Guild of America typed