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More on the WGA Strike
Nov. 30th, 2007 11:27 amSo, it turns out, the grand, sweeping proposal the media companies offered to get talks back open? They didn't budge on the major issue (raising DVD rates to make them commensurate with TV rates and applying them to internet downloads as well as DVDs. As for what they did do? Overall, the proposed deal actually lowered how much writers would make. Yeah, that's going to go over well.
And another aspect of the strike has come to light. Apparently, reality tv shows depend on writers, just like everything else on TV. What do reality writers do? They come up with scenarios, write words for voiceovers and for the hosts, and take the hundreds of hours of film shot for each episode and turn it into a one-hour story. (Not the actual splicing together and picking shots and such which editors do, but figuring out who they're going to focus on and which events they're going to focus on, etc.) But reality shows are still being produced, you say. If they have writers, why aren't they striking, too? Because reality-writers aren't part of the Guild, because Hollywood has been misclassifying the writers so that they a) don't have to pay them overtime, b) don't have to pay benefits such as health insurance, and c) don't have to pay pensions. Oh, and d) don't have to include them in any negotiations the WGA makes. The WGA is trying to get them protected by the Guild. And the government of California agrees that the media corporations have been misclassifying the reality writers and owes them (at the very least) compensation for overtime hours.
And another aspect of the strike has come to light. Apparently, reality tv shows depend on writers, just like everything else on TV. What do reality writers do? They come up with scenarios, write words for voiceovers and for the hosts, and take the hundreds of hours of film shot for each episode and turn it into a one-hour story. (Not the actual splicing together and picking shots and such which editors do, but figuring out who they're going to focus on and which events they're going to focus on, etc.) But reality shows are still being produced, you say. If they have writers, why aren't they striking, too? Because reality-writers aren't part of the Guild, because Hollywood has been misclassifying the writers so that they a) don't have to pay them overtime, b) don't have to pay benefits such as health insurance, and c) don't have to pay pensions. Oh, and d) don't have to include them in any negotiations the WGA makes. The WGA is trying to get them protected by the Guild. And the government of California agrees that the media corporations have been misclassifying the reality writers and owes them (at the very least) compensation for overtime hours.
