In The News: CWA Stands by Striking Writers

In a Thanksgiving week letter to the presidents of the Writers' Guild East and West, CWA said the writers' fight is vital to everyone involved in new media — including thousands of CWA members.

"Your bold, brave action will ultimately benefit your members and ours as we negotiate contracts for work that is no longer limited to the printed page of a newspaper or a television broadcast. Our members understand that their future livelihoods depend on your success in contract talks now," read the letter from CWA President Larry Cohen, NABET-CWA President John Clark and TNG-CWA President Linda Foley.

Writers on both coasts went on strike Nov. 5 to fight for a contract that includes fair compensation for work that is rebroadcast on the Internet and on DVDs and downloaded to cell phones, iPods and similar devices.

The CWA leaders told the writers that the strike is helping people understand "that it is not fair for media corporations to reap the profits of a new information age at the expense of the creative people doing the actual work."