by Mike Hall, Nov 9, 2007

The writer’s strike to win a fair contract enters its fifth day, as the Alliance of Motion Picture and Televisions Producers continues to refuse to return to the bargaining table.

Striking writers and their supporters are on the picket lines at major studios in New York and California in a drive to win an equitable contract that addresses how writers get paid as new media plays a bigger and bigger role in the entertainment industry.

The writers are seeking a formula for fair compensation for their work when it is broadcast on the Internet, downloaded to iPods or cell phones or distributed via DVD. (Click on the “Why We Fight” video for more information on the issues.)

In New York City yesterday, comedian Robin Williams delivered bagels to strikers marching at media conglomerate Time Warner. He told the Associated Press:

They [the producers] claim there is no money on the Internet. That’s a shell game.

In a YouTube video posted by the Writer’s Guild of America, East (WGAE), former “Saturday Night Live” cast member and WGAE member Tim Kazurinsky tells a Chicago TV station:

This is the big, bad writers versus the poor producers. Who are the poor producers? They are G.E., Sony, Time-Warner…the little guys.

WGAE and Screen Actors member Tim Robbins, who was on the picket lines in New York City, told the Hollywood Reporter:

This is not about millionaire screenwriters. They don’t need to be on strike. This is not about me, I’m fine. This is about a large amount of people who are simply trying to get their fair share….This is about middle-class writers trying to support a family and make mortgage payments.

For more information and updates on the strike from several blogs and other sources, click here, here, here, here, here, here and here. 

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