Studio executives, she said, have limited their comments to "organic" responses that fit their area of expertise. They often spoke "on background" to reporters, appearing confident their bottom line would hold. As CBS chief Les Moonves told financial analysts: "Our dramas and comedies repeat extremely well."
Star power
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Monday, November 19, 2007 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 33 words Type of Material: Correction
WGA representative: An article in Sunday's Calendar section about public relations for both sides in the writers strike called Sherry Goldman a Writers Guild of America spokeswoman. She is a WGA East spokeswoman.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday, November 25, 2007 Home Edition Sunday Calendar Part E Page 2 Calendar Desk 1 inches; 31 words Type of Material: Correction
WGA representative: An article last Sunday about public relations for both sides in the writers strike called Sherry Goldman a Writers Guild of America spokeswoman. She is a WGA East spokeswoman.
Meanwhile, the writers, who are seeking greater revenue when their work is distributed in new media, leafleted Wall Street, picketed with stars such as Jay Leno, Ray Romano, Michael Imperioli and Tina Fey, and welcomed fans to the picket lines.
For the writers, a strong PR strategy aimed at winning "hearts and minds" of the public is essential to win an "asymmetrical war," said Michael Winship, president of WGA East. "We all recognize the power of the studios and networks we're fighting. As such, PR becomes one of our most powerful weapons."
But how that weapon might ultimately help the writers accomplish their strike goals is not completely clear.
"They know the power of the media, if only that it's powerful," said crisis manager Howard Bragman of L.A.-based Fifteen Minutes, who recently represented former "Grey's Anatomy" actor Isaiah Washington. He suggested that the unspoken goal of a publicity campaign might be to rally the WGA's 10,000 members themselves who are divided into East and West units and represent a vast economic range with a stratified pecking order. "Public support helps keep them together so they keep a unified front. Maybe they're using external methods for an internal campaign," he said.
However, the WGA's Winship said widespread publicity serves to alert producers and companies that writers have more support, solidarity and stamina than might have been originally anticipated. "I hope it would bring them back to the table and bargain fairly," he said. (As of midweek, no talks were scheduled.)
Public-relations tactics and labor action in such a high-profile industry could conceivably be a combustible mixture. Both sides are aware that a popular strike may have long-term political repercussions for producers in the event Congress takes up related issues such as technology or residuals, said Harley Shaiken, a professor at UC Berkeley specializing in labor-relations issues. "If it is the writers who have the upper hand in terms of public support and sympathy, that could prove to be a real problem down the road," he said.
