How to Support the Writer’s Strike

Most everyone, including some high profile celebrities, supports the writer’s strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMTMP). The people who don’t support the strike are the movie studios. If you’re a writer, or even if you’re not, here’s how you can do your part to support the strike.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Understand the source of the strike. The writer’s strike is mainly about the residuals for DVD sales and the Internet. As of now, writer’s don’t make their fair share when written material is played online. For instance, a TV show might play online but writers don’t make money from online advertising while the show is being streamed. So, one way to support the strike is to boycott these mediums. Don’t stream fictional content online.

2. Spread the word. Link to sites like UnitedHollywood.com. This is the main blog repository for information about the writer’s strike, covering the strike from every possible angle.

3. Understand that the rule of not downloading shows/movies doesn’t apply to reality shows. Reality show scripts don’t fall under the same WGA guidelines.

4. Spread the e-word. There are countless Youtube videos made by strikers. Some are very high profile, like Woody Allen. If you’ve got a blog or a Myspace page, post them. Educating other people about the strike is the best way for a fan to get involved.

5. Write to advertisers showing your solidarity of writers. Also, write pro-WGA posts on the networks’ and studios’ message boards.

6. You can even walk the line with the strikers, or hand out coffee or water to strikers walking the picket line.

[eugene2009]

on 1/14/2009 Great article! Never knew about this till now. Thank you. 5* + recommendation.