I composed the following post-strike piece for my college yearbook.
It was a story that had all the makings of a good soap opera script: drama, conflict, and no end in sight.
On Nov. 5, 2007, after months of unsuccessful negotiations, the Writers Guild of America went on strike for the first time in nearly 20 years.
The guild represents writers of nearly every scripted movie and television show that comes out of Hollywood. When their most recent contract expired on Oct. 31, 2007, they began making plans to go on strike, an action they had not taken since 1988.
At issue was a disagreement over key issues in a new contract sought with the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
With the explosion in recent years of digital technology, movies and TV shows are being repurposed and repackaged in many forms of new media not foreseen in previous contracts, said the writers, whose previous agreement earned them DVD royalties based on an antiquated VHS formula.
Writers also felt they should be compensated when movies and TV shows are streamed on the Internet, an increasingly popular method of entertainment distribution. Among the guild’s other objectives were including animation and reality writers under its protection.
The AMPTP argued that it was too early to know how profitable new media would be, and if they didn’t know how much was coming in, they couldn’t know how much was fair to pay the writers.
Writers took to the streets in New York and Los Angeles for some chilly winter weeks of picketing. They were joined by many famous faces, who braved the elements to show their co-workers and friends solidarity.
As if to illustrate one of the key issues of this strike, the Internet was a major force in the process. Nikki Finke, a reporter for L.A. Weekly, tirelessly chronicled the unfolding events at her blog, DeadlineHollywoodDaily.com. The writers organized their efforts at UnitedHollywood.blogspot.com, which featured many of the YouTube videos and viral campaigns writers made with all their spare time to tell their side of the story. The web was also used to organize and galvanize not only striking writers, but also their legions of fans who banded together to support them during an uncertain time.
By Thanksgiving, as TV series began to run out of new episodes, the two sides were talking again, but negotiations collapsed again in early December. By mid-December, production on virtually all scripted movies and TV series was shut down indefinitely. Thousands were out of work.
The winter critics’ press tour was canceled and the whole ordeal caused the networks to reconsider some of its common business practices.
NBC made the most drastic pronouncements, deciding to bow out of the lavish annual upfront presentations at which networks present their fall schedules to advertisers, according to president & CEO Jeff Zucker. The network also announced its intention to reduce the time and money it spends on shooting pilots for potential series, most of which never make it to air.
In January, late night hosts returned to their programs. The WGA began signing interim agreements with independent producers, allowing the writers of their programs to return to work with the protections the guild was seeking in its new agreement. In the meantime, studios began severing deals with writers and producers.
The tide would turn on Jan. 17, when the Directors Guild reached its own agreement for a new contract, some of which would be used as a guide for resuming negotiations with the WGA. Fearing, among other things, a disruption of the Oscars after a strike boycott of the Golden Globes reduced the ceremony to a disastrous press conference, the networks and studios were ready to deal. After some give-and-take on both sides, by Groundhog’s Day a deal seemed to be in the works.
On Feb. 9, the WGA announced it had a “tentative deal” and the writers overwhelmingly voted to return to work, which they did Feb. 13. The writers strike lasted just three months, but in that time, the event helped change the future course of television – no matter what kind of screen we watch it on.
Filed under: Inside the Box, Strike Watch
