stop. start. stutter.

I support the Writers Guild of America in their efforts to receive equitable compensation for digital distribution. It's not the only issue they are striking over; you can read the guild's response to the AMPTP's proposals, which contains a high-level overview of the issues involved.

The proposal put forth by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers is predicated on a blatant lie: that internet distribution of television and movies is promotional only, not for-profit. This is patently and demonstrably false. Television studios are embracing internet distribution tentatively, but they're making money on it. The people who wrote that content deserve a percentage of that revenue.

In a way, the WGA is the bellwether of the television and movie industry; both their contract-schedule and their position in the production timeline mean that they're the first industry union to go to talks about a specific issue. This year is going to be the year of internet (and other non-traditional distribution channels, such as cell phones, PDAs, iPods, etc) residuals, and it's going to get nasty. Expect other contract negotiations, including the Screen Actors Guild and the Directors Guild of America, to also hinge around this issue.

It's also an issue we should all be paying attention to. The WGA doesn't cover the print industry, fiction or nonfiction, but I think we've all seen -- over this past year and before -- the ripples of questions about internet rights. What gets decided here is going to have an impact on how the publishing industry handles things, and as someone heavily invested in internet distribution, DRM, alternate-copyright, and sustainable New Media channels of distribution, I'm watching this one closely. I'm almost always automatically on the side of the people out on the picket lines, because I know what the labor movement has gotten us (whether blue-collar or white-collar), and I know what we owe them. But this one's personally-affective in a way so many other labor conflicts aren't.

I'm also heartened to see all the support being shown for the WGA, and I hope it continues. The longer a strike drags on, the more tempted people are to get nasty to the strikers. If I lived in LA or New York, I'd bring donuts and coffee; as it stands, all I can do is sit here and cheer the WGA on. Solidarity forever.