WGA News: October/November 2011
New Media Writing Awards and the WGAW Statement on Occupy Wall Street are in this fall WGA update.
Compiled and Edited by Ray Morton
2012 WGA New Media Writing Awards
The Writers Guild of America, West and Writers Guild of America, East have announced a joint call for submissions for the second annual WGA New Media Writing Awards.
In recognition of the diverse writing talent and creative work increasingly being broadcast via an array of new media platforms, awards for Outstanding Achievement in Writing Original New Media, and Outstanding Achievement in Writing Derivative New Media will be presented at the upcoming 2012 Writers Guild Awards to be held on Sunday, February 19, 2012 at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York City.
Submissions for the 2012 WGA New Media Writing Awards will be accepted through November 18, 2011.
Eligibility requirements for the Guilds’ New Media Writing Awards (Original and Derivative) are as follows:
Outstanding Achievement in Writing Original New Media
- To be eligible for entry, an original stand-alone new media program or an original episode written for a new media series must have first been exhibited on a new media platform between 12/1/2010 and 11/30/2011. For this purpose, a new media platform is defined as the Internet via a major video-sharing site or unique URL, mobile devices such as cell phones or PDAs, or any other established new media platform.
- Only work that was written and produced under a WGA collective bargaining agreement and for which the Guild has determined the writing credits may be submitted. (In order for the Guild to determine writing credits -- and for submissions to be eligible -- the signatory company must submit to the Guild’s Credits Department a Notice of Tentative Writing Credits.)
- Submissions will be accepted by mail or online. Submission information and submission forms are available on the Guilds’ websites.
- Writers may submit either one stand-alone new media program or up to five episodes of a single new media series. The award will be given to the credited writer(s) of the submitted program/episode(s), not to the series.
Outstanding Achievement in Writing Derivative New Media
- To be eligible for entry, a derivative stand-alone new media program or a derivative episode written for a new media series must have first been exhibited on a new media platform between 12/1/2010 and 11/30/2011. For this purpose, a new media platform is defined as the Internet via a major video-sharing site or unique URL, mobile devices such as cell phones or PDAs, or any other established new media platform.
- Only work that was written and produced under a WGA collective bargaining agreement and for which the Guild has determined the writing credits may be submitted. (For awards purposes, a derivative new media production is a production for new media based on an existing television motion picture that was produced for “traditional” media – e.g., a free television, basic cable, or pay television motion picture, or any new media production based on previously exploited material ?- e.g., a theatrical motion picture, novel, play, and is otherwise included among the types of motion pictures traditionally covered by the MBA.)
- Submissions will be accepted by mail or online. Submission information and submission forms will be available on the Guilds’ websites.
- Writers may submit either one stand-alone new media program or up to five episodes of a single new media series. The award will be given to the credited writer(s) of the submitted program/episode(s), not to the series.
WGA New Media Writing Awards are based strictly on written material. Preliminary judging will be done by Guild members. Each script that qualifies for final judging will be read by a panel of Guild members selected for their experience in the new media genre.
Further inquiries about the WGA New Media Writing Awards may be directed to WGAW Awards Administrator Jennifer Burt at (323) 782-4569, email: jburt@wga.org, or to WGAE Director of Programs Dana Weissman at (212) 767-7835, email: dweissman@wgaeast.org.
WGAW Statement on Wall Street Protests
On October 6, 2011, Christopher Keyser, president of the Writers Guild of America, West, issued the following statement regarding the protests on Wall Street and around the country:
“The economic statistics don’t lie. The rich are getting much, much richer in America. At the same time, the middle class, which was once the vibrant economic backbone of this country, is disappearing, and our poor and our unemployed are in free fall.
“The corporations and the people who gambled with our future, who made a killing on that bet and then got bailed out by us, are back with robust profits and unconscionable salaries. No one has paid a price for that but the American worker. And neither political party seems to have the guts or the independence to hold anyone accountable or to demand meaningful safeguards to protect us from all of this happening again.
“In this common endeavor of our democracy, there is no requirement that everyone benefit equally, but there is a quiet understanding that the game is not rigged, that there is some measure of fairness, that risk and reward are shared. As a union and as Americans, that is what we believe and what we fight for every day.
“The rallies happening on Wall Street and around the country are shining a much-needed spotlight on the harm being caused to America’s working men and women by a system run amok. People from all walks of life are rising up and demanding accountability and change. The Writers Guild of America, West supports this national protest against the greed permeating the workings of our economy.”
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