Jim Jones and Our Stumbling Leader
“Much of my youth involved being forced to watch something I did not choose” writes news vet Patrick Mason in Write On. Patrick argues that people who grew up watching hard news stories on their family’s lone TV learned a great deal about the world. Will TV news today have the same impact?
Rotten To the Core
Michael Winship reports for Write On about the folks who make Mott’s apples sauce, why they are on strike and why you (yes you) should care about the outcome.
My Love-Hate Relationship with the Internet
Everyone is talking about the Internet’s impact on news reporting. Find out what longtime newswriter Patrick Mason has to say about news in the digital age.
Featured
Now Accepting Submissions for WGA Award for Documentary Screenplays
We are now accepting submissions for the Documentary Screenplay category. Be sure to read important eligibility rules and information on the each of the categories currently accepting submissions.
Web Series Summer Camp is a Smash Hit!
“Can we do this every week?” asked workshop leader Timothy Cooper.
On the 28th, web series creators including Mesh Flinders [Lonelygirl15], Kathleen Grace [The ‘Burg] and Martha Byrne [Gotham], Josh Cohen the CIO of Tubefilter and many other experts came to the WGAE to lead a day of workshops for over 125 members and prospective members. Missed it? You can read reports from the panels on Twitter and check out our photos.
Winner of Silverdoc’s WGA Screenplay Award Gets National Praise
A Film Unfinished, a documentary by Yael Hersonski examining the production of a notorious Nazi propaganda film falsely depicting Jewish life in the Ghetto is gaining wider release and considerable praise. Praise for the film demonstrates that winners of Silverdocs’ WGA Documentary Screenplay Award are films to watch out for. New York Magazine considers the film’s importance.
News
Unanimous Vote for New PBS Contract
Under the just ratified contract, WGAE members at PBS will get rate increases of 2% in the second year and 2.75% in the contract’s third and fourth years. For the first time, Made-For-Internet programming will be covered too! See Press Release for more.
Labor Day Tweet-athon
This Labor Day weekend union members of all stripes are taking to Twitter to tell the world why being in a union matters to them. Be sure to visit UnionMember.org to see what folks like Nancy Sinatra, Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria and Writers Guild members are saying. If you are proud to be a union member say so on Twitter with the hashtag #unionmember and it will show up on participating sites.
News Writers Go Union!
Web writer/producers at WBBM Chicago have voted to become part of the Guild. They are the first people working exclusively for online news to join the WGAE but they won't be the last. Press release has details.
