The Writers Guild of America (WGA) have been on strike since 2 May 2023. The writers are demanding better pay, conditions, and protections for their work from AI. With several late night shows off the air the strike has already begun to cause disruption.
While strikes are common in the entertainment industry, this episode has more attention. This is due to the public relations battle between the WGA and the studios.
The battlelines
Writers have long argued that they are undervalued and underpaid. Many struggle to make ends meet despite creating some of the most successful and profitable content in the industry. Almost half of WGA members write for ‘TV at scale’, the minimum wage for writers.
The introduction of streaming platforms has compounded the frustration of writers. Residuals writers used to receive for their work being syndicated has largely dried up.
Studios argue writers’ demands are unreasonable and could harm the industry's long-term profitability.
PR Perspective
The strike represents a significant PR challenge for both sides.
For the WGA, the challenge is to convince the public and the media that their demands are reasonable and justified. They must demonstrate that they are fighting for fair treatment and creative control rather than being a group of entitled writers.
This requires leveraging relationships with media to tell them. There have already been some high-profile examples of this happening. In a clip that has now gone viral, writer and comedian Adam Conover appeared on CNN highlighting the $250m salary of Warner Bros and CNN boss David Zaslav. Conover explained said that this salary was equivalent to “what 10,000 writers are asking him to pay all of us collectively".
The studios need to navigate the public relations minefield of a strike and have been positioned as profit hungry machines. This image has not been helped by reports that studios refused to offer counter proposals to some key issues.
Missing out on the opportunity to communicate an understanding of the writers' concerns is damaging. The hard-line taken by studios will only push the general public to support the strike
The way forward
For both sides, communication and transparency are critical. Both must listen to feedback and engage in meaningful dialogue.
Ultimately, the longer this strike goes on, the more both parties’ image is damaged. Both studios and writers faced criticism during the last writer’s strike in 2007,
For writers, there was criticism about the effects the strike would have on media. And criticism about the timing of the strike from some big names, such as Bill Maher.
Studios faced much harsher criticism that persevered long after the end of the strike in 2008. This focused on the level of content produced by studios in this period. Both TV shows and movies, were heavily affected by their loss of writers. Some high profile examples included, the TV show Heroes and the James Bond film, Quantum of Solace.
Lessons Learned
The strike highlights the importance of public relations in labour disputes. Strikes can have a significant impact on a company's reputation and bottom line. Effective public relations can help to mitigate the damage.
Companies must take a proactive approach to public relations, building relationships with key stakeholders and engaging in open and honest communication with employees, the media, and the public.
