What the Writers' Strike Means to CSI: NY

[Lorelai]

Writers' strike's wide ripples

"I'm here striking for myself, obviously," says Barbie Kligman, a scribe on CBS's "CSI: NY." "But I'm also here hoping to get things going because I worry about our crew and all the other people who depend on us for work."

More here.

 

[Top41]

Elsie, I feel the same way you do about strikes in general. I'm not a big fan of unions, and I think striking isn't generally a good way to get what one wants. I think this one, if it continues, will cause a lot of damage--to the econony in SoCal, to the people who are directly affected by this and yet don't stand to benefit from it no matter what happens (the crew, etc.) and to scripted television as a medium. I don't think there are going to be any winners here, not if this goes on for a long time.

That being said, I do agree that the writers deserve what they're asking for. Their demands aren't outrageous and it is their work that fuels this entire industry--there would be no scripted television to staff all of those people if it weren't for writers. Many of them live off residuals when they're not working, and it seems like what they get in residuals should be adjusted as the way TV shows are rerun changes (the internet as opposed to syndication).

However, the fact of the matter is, the studios can probably hold out a lot longer than the writers, and the reality is that this strike might be financially devastating for a lot of people and in the end accomplish nothing. And that's really sad.

 

[LateToTheGame]

Top41, the part of the country I live in is very "union" oriented and all my life there has been one kind of a strike or other. From a nasty one that affected my family personally (mentioned in an earlier post) to ones that cause serious disruptions (teachers' strikes, hosptial workers' strikes, ferry strikes - I live on an island) etc. I've seen a lot. Someone earlier expressed shock that a picketer had been hit by a car. Can't say I was surprised - it happens. Emotions rise, violence can occur and for what? As you say, it can be financially devastating and at the end of the day, neither side usually "wins". One side gets "less" than they wanted and the other side "gives up" more than they wanted. In the meantime, as you say, it can be financially devastating for a lot of people.

Unions used to be a good thing - they brought about safety at the workplace and decent wages. And they need to stay in place to ensure that those things don't slide. Unfortunately many unions have reached a place where they need to justify their existence and the result has been unnecessary strikes that, ironically enough tend to hurt more people than they help. I'm not saying that this particular union doesn't have a valid case - thanks to this thread's excellent information, one can see that both sides have their points. Unfortunately, whether their case is justified or not, the usual side effects (job losses, "consumers" going elsewhere and maybe never coming back etc.) are inevitable. Sigh.

Anyway - I do wonder, if neither side seems willing to talk to the other, where is the mediator? One thing about strikes in my part of the world is there are a few people whose job it is to act as mediator. One guy in particular - if you hear that he has stepped in to mediate, you can be almost assured that some kind of settlement will be reached. With a strike that can affect the economy the way this one can you would think someone would be appointed to get the sides talking by now.

 

[elevatorfalls]

dutch_treat said:
This will of course realize a lot of money, but the producers also have to deal with loss of income from commercials, selling of on-line episodes, etc. And although $ 0.04 extra doesn’t sound like a lot, when multiplied by the number of writers per episode/DVD and the number of times they’re watched/sold, it will end up in the millions; and perhaps even more when the eventual (hopefully early) result will be used as a precedence for others in the business to claim their extra piece of the proceeds.

Just to clarify, that the residuals given to writers for the dvds are shared among all the writers. They don't each get their own four cents, the 0.3% is shared among all the writers.

I'm sad because I totally agree with whoever above said that the writing has been excellent this season. I feel like CSI:NY is the best of the three this season. Aside from the massacre of a remix of the theme song, the episodes just seem sharper, brighter, snappier, more cohesive than in previous seasons.
I'm glad they've been *a lot* more subtle on the Lindsay/Danny stuff; it's still there and cute, but not over the top!

 

[Elsie]

Top41 said:
That being said, I do agree that the writers deserve what they're asking for. Their demands aren't outrageous and it is their work that fuels this entire industry--there would be no scripted television to staff all of those people if it weren't for writers. Many of them live off residuals when they're not working, and it seems like what they get in residuals should be adjusted as the way TV shows are rerun changes (the internet as opposed to syndication).

Indeed, I agree that they should be paid fairly and that without them there would be no scripted TV shows. But I also see many others as essential to the industry too. I appreciate that the writers may live off the residuals when they aren't working, but for the majority of people working in the entertainment industry, no work probably equals no income at all.

However, the fact of the matter is, the studios can probably hold out a lot longer than the writers, and the reality is that this strike might be financially devastating for a lot of people and in the end accomplish nothing. And that's really sad.

Of course they can. And as LateToTheGame says, they seem to have a desperate need for someone to mediate in this mess. Although, I'm sure people have tried, but I guess it's impossible to mediate between two opposing sets who both think they are in the right. Certainly both sides are determined and steadfast, which I often consider to be positive attributes, but in this situation is actually rather frustrating.

 

[xfcanadian]

to ones that cause serious disruptions (teachers' strikes, hosptial workers' strikes, ferry strikes - I live on an island) etc. I've seen a lot.

ulg, the ferry ones always pissed me off...they make like $30/hr, and who takes the hit? The consumers...the ferry prices are outrageous. Especially since they could probably build a bridge. I was in elementary school when the long teachers strike happened, so i wasn't too upset about missing a couple months of school...

Ultimately I don't think the public are going to be so compassionate if the strike affects tv shows. People will just get fed up and switch to other entertainment. Also, this strike is just going to increase the number of game and reality shows...which means less work for the writers anyway. Also, i am betting if they get more money for DVDs, they will just raise the price of the sets.

I don't see any good coming from this strike.

 

[Top41]

Right now, there are no talks going on as far as I know. I believe Governor Schwarzenegger made an effort to be a mediator, but as far as I know, nothing came out of it. From what I understand, the writers were willing to concede the DVD residual issue if the studios would give them better residuals from internet airings, but the studios wouldn't budge.

EDIT: Any L.A. area fans planning to go to Universal on Friday for this Walk with the Writers thing? Apparently the CSI writers are going to be there. I think I might go!

 

[Faylinn]

Right now, it seems like both sides are too busy stating their cases--loudly and repeatedly--than actually working toward a compromise. The WGA says something about the way the AMPTP operates, the AMPTP turns around and makes a comment about the way the WGA is acting, etc etc etc. In the end, they're just going back and forth.

Both sides asked to talk to Schwarzenegger, and he obliged, but there's not really anything he can do. Unions are federally regulated, so it's not a state matter. I read before that Bill Clinton offered to mediate negotiations--but that would require both sides to sit down at the same table before it could actually work.

 

[LateToTheGame]

xfcanadian said:
ulg, the ferry ones always pissed me off...they make like $30/hr, and who takes the hit? The consumers...the ferry prices are outrageous. Especially since they could probably build a bridge. I was in elementary school when the long teachers strike happened, so i wasn't too upset about missing a couple months of school...

But if you were in Grade 12 looking to graduate and move on to university or college, the teachers strike would be major blow. Even elementary school kids - parents have to scramble to find day care for those kids, etc. etc. As for the ferry strikes - well when you live on an island, how do you suppose food, fuel and basic essentials get to you? So it's not just the price of a ticket that eventually goes up. Our gas prices are consistently higher than anywhere else in the country, for example. The point is, no matter what industry goes on strike, more people are affected than the "two sides" that are fighting it out. What's worse, the "bystanders" usually have no recourse either. What's sad is that some people who are now being laid off because productions are shutting down may not necessarily get their jobs back.

It's too bad that a professional mediator hasn't been called in (don't know what credentials the governor or former president may have in this area). Mediation doesn't always work, but then nothing will, as long as the two sides refuse to even talk to each other.

More game and reality shows? Sigh.

 

[AnastaziaMarie]

I just recently heard about the writer's strike....*stinkin final exams....* I think that its sad that the writers can not come up with an agreement to settle the problem.

I think if I watch enough re-runs....Ill start quoting things from each eppi...and that would be very bad. XD

 

[Annwn]

In teh UK we have ACAS (Advisory,Conciliation and Arbitration Service) an independant organisation; the sole aim is to bring the factions together - initially they talk to the two (or more) sides individually and then act as arbiters when the 'sides' get to the point where they're ready for face to face contact. It isn't ideal, but it seems that the two parties here need someone to act a go-btween. As has already been mentioned, in a strike neither side really wins, the money lost is never recovered. There are so many 'back room' people who will lose out. I would appeal to both sides to talk and sort things out - for everyones' sakes.

(And the UK used to be infamous as the striking nation of Europe)

 

[PerfectAnomaly]

Here's an excerpt from article in "Fort Collins:Now" that I found particularly interesting.

Carpe Diem: Bigwigs' Hypocrisy

Kurt Brighton

One of the most ingenious and clever videos in support of the striking writers does little more than let the studio bosses use their own words to hang themselves. In this short clip, which can be seen at You Tube , Fox’s Rupert Murdoch, CBS’s Les Moonves, Viacom’s Sumner Redstone and others are shown in interviews extolling the new revenue streams that broadband distribution of their shows will bring in. Of course, in negotiations with the writers, these same boasters have pled poverty, claiming that there is no more money, that the pie has already been divided and, so sorry, writers just don’t get a slice. In one especially telling bit, CBS’s Les Moonves lists all the people who will benefit from the new media distribution of their shows: “Wherever say, CSI is shown, we as the network, as the studio, as the production company, as the producers—we are going to get paid for it.”

Whoops. Forgot someone, there.

The whole story can be found here: Fort Collins: Now

I thought this, from "The Gulf Daily News" was interesting as well:

LOS ANGELES: GEORGE CLOONEY has donated $25,000 to the show business charity the Actors Fund to provide emergency relief for workers facing financial hardship due to the strike by Hollywood screenwriters. Clooney said he planned to make periodic donations to the fund, and urged fellow stars to follow suit. He said he chose the New York-based nonprofit agency, which assists workers in all walks of the entertainment industry, because relief is provided in the form of grants, not loans, and eligibility does not depend on union membership.

George Clooney, you da man.

 

[Charity]

Here is something that may be worth checking out. In short it's an effort to force the execs hands by bombarding them with pencils the way they were for Jericho with peanuts

Arise and Seize the Pencils... Our Evil(it's not evil) Master(we're not masters) Plan is ready to unleash(it's not a dog).(!)

Well, United Hollywood has fine-tuned the pencil concept into an organized and potentially awesomely visual penstravaganza! Witness the electronic mail messed forth to showrunner types:

Pencils2MediaMoguls

This week, United Hollywood (the blog) met with a group of showrunners who have particularly vocal fan bases. We discussed the fans’ eagerness to put their energy to use in a unified campaign, and this is what we came up with:

Several fan sites have suggested sending pencils into the networks and studios, and some of them are already doing it. It’s a great idea, and we’d like to take it a step further – get everyone buying pencils at the same time, from the same vendor, to be delivered in masses (like the peanuts were for Jericho.) All the fandoms working together, in concert. It seems that the conglomerates take it for granted that the fans will always be there to purchase content, that their concerns about the strike don’t matter. This is a chance for the fans to show that they do matter.


The campaign itself is fairly simple. We’d like to start it right away, and it goes like this:

Point the fans to http://unitedhollywood.blogspot.com/ , where there will be a banner or button allowing them to click through to buy boxes of pencils. The pencils are plain wooden #2’s, and the company uses sustainable farming for the wood (seriously. They do.) The pricing will be “a buck a box.” (Sustainably harvested wood pencils + PayPal cost per transaction puts us a little higher than the cost of a box if you buy at Office Depot, sorry.) If there’s any money left over, it will be donated to the Union Solidarity Fund, which is a nonprofit for non-WGA members affected by the strike.

When fans click to buy the pencils, they can choose to identify the show they are supporting if they want. (This will generate a database of fans by show – among other things, allowing showrunners to thank fans by group if they want to.)

The pencils will be delivered in bulk, by trucks, like the peanuts were. The deliveries will be to the 6 CEOs of the 6 congloms (Disney, News Corp, Viacom, Time Warner, CBS, GE) one by one – we’ll probably start with GE. If we get enough to pencils to do all 6, then we will. If we don’t, we’ll concentrate on one or two.

If the logistics can be worked out, showrunners who choose to can take part in a “load the pencils” photo op – unpacking the boxes of pencils and shoveling them into bins or boxes for transport to the CEO’s. The visual has the potential to be worth a thousand words – for the fans as well as the general public.

We will suggest that the fans send a message similar to this: “We’re all on the same page. Make a fair deal.”

This has the potential to be a historic moment in fan history – the first time that all fandoms band together to show that they are a force to be reckoned with to the corporate world. Given the passion and commitment the fans are already showing, this seems a good way to both show our appreciation and respect, as well as giving them the direction they’ve been requesting.

We hope you’ll be willing to join us in this effort. It won’t be our last.


Carol Barbee Jericho
John Aboud
United Hollywood

Jane Espenson
Buffy, Battlestar Galactica
Jeffrey Berman
United Hollywood

Rob McElhenney
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Laeta Kalogridis
United Hollywood

Ron Moore
Battlestar Galactica

Marti Noxon
Buffy, Private Practice

Jaime Paglia
Eureka

Bill Prady
Two and a Half Men

Shonda Rhimes
Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice

Stephanie Savage
Gossip Girl

Joss Whedon
Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse


Pretty offical sounding, huh? Like grown-ups would do. Well, I, as a showrunner... (but with no show... If I have no show, am I a showrunner? What would Jubal Early say?) Anyhoo I'm a tirribly impahtant Hollyville muckity so my opinion counts oodles. And I think this will be very cool. Let's make our (unsharpened) point. I seriously want to spend a day wading in actual pencils with a big ol' snowshovel. And I want the Execs to understand that forcing one show off the air can rouse the public to make themselves heard in a fairly dramatic fashion, but forcing ALL of them off the air... well, might just be a tetch more dramatical-er. Now you all kinda got your own Union. And it's time to strike.

"CBS and Fox, they think were nothin'!
Are we nothin'? NO!
CBS and Fox they think they got us,
Do they got us? NO!
Even though we all wear scarves and glasses,
We're a union, just by sayin' so...
And the world will know!"

So here goes.

Yours ever, -j.

Again, the link to send pencils to media moguls in honor of you favorite show(s) or writer(s) is: http://unitedhollywood.bl.../pencils2mediamoguls.html

 

[Top41]

Joss Whedon! Just seeing his name and his writing makes me smile. A little OT, but I do love him.

 

[Orison]

I've read about this pencil campaign on the "Cold Case" board... looks like there's a lot of fans participating out there.