In solidarity with the striking members of Writers Guild of America
Media Guild of the West, a local union of The NewsGuild-CWA that represents news workers across the Greater Southwest, stands with the striking members of Writers Guild of America West and Writers Guild of America East.
Journalists and Hollywood writers have a lot in common these days. The economic interests of news companies and the studios have become increasingly intertwined in recent years as media executives regularly seek development deals to showcase our journalism to wider audiences. We have learned how it feels to get brushed off at the bargaining table when demanding fair pay for potentially lucrative film and TV projects that wouldn’t exist without us.
Writers Guild of America members have played a critical role in transforming many journalists’ work into poetry on the screen. More and more members of The Writers Guild of America have been members of The NewsGuild-CWA and vice versa. Their stories have been our stories; their success is our success.
We also know all too well what it's like when a handful of major media corporations make a coordinated push to downsize and freelancerize formerly middle-class workforces in pursuit of ever-cheaper and lower-quality content. AMPTP’s rejection of the screenwriters’ demands to regulate the industry’s potential use of artificial intelligence should send a chill down the spine of every media worker who’s wondering what media executives see in ChatGPT. We must protect what’s human in the business of human expression.
This statement was issued by vote of the Executive Committee of Media Guild of the West. Guild members, whose journalistic autonomy and ethical integrity our union exists to protect, maintain full editorial independence in covering the strike.
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Media Guild of the West, The NewsGuild-CWA Local 39213, was founded in 2019 and represents unionized journalists and media workers at the Los Angeles Times, Arizona Republic, Phoenix New Times, Desert Sun, Austin American-Statesman, Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and Southern California News Group.