Writers strike now a PR war
Both the WGA and the producers are locked in a spin-control battle, with the hearts and mind of the public at stake. But what exactly does the winner get?
WHEN images of the writers strike first popped into the public consciousness, Hollywood outsiders got an impression of two sides in some sort of vague but nasty fight.
On one side were the red-shirted writers and their handsome celebrity supporters waving old-fashioned placards, calling themselves "labor" and asking for their "fair share." On the other, a bit more murkily, were the corporate suits, talking reassuringly but perhaps coolly about profits and the future of technology.
After one week, there was no doubt who was winning the public-image face off. Two surveys, one national and one local, showed that roughly two-thirds were taking the writers' side in the dispute. In a Pepperdine University survey, only 4% favored the studios; in a local ABC7 News Poll conducted by SurveyUSA, 8% took the side of producers. The rest weren't exactly sure what was going on with the strike.
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.
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.
In a time of economic anxiety, the general public clearly sympathized with the placard wavers on the street, even if some drive fancier cars or lunch with the Hollywood elite. Yet it wasn't clear how much of that support was due to shared fears of an uncertain future or public-relations campaigns in one of the nation's highest-profile labor spats in recent years. Nor was it clear what exactly a PR advantage would provide and how long it might last.
Indeed, as the two sides bicker, stumble and scramble to "get their message out," much of the outside world hasn't heard them, or doesn't much care. Longtime Hollywood publicist Pat Kingsley, who ought to know, said it was hard to relate to anyone during the first week of the strike, which began Nov. 5. "They're talking about issues we don't understand. Who understands the Internet stuff?"
In response to the writers' early lead, producers, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, ratcheted up their response last week with full-page advertisements in The Times and the trades and statements criticizing the Writers Guild of America's tactics"We held our own until there was a strike," said Barbara Brogliatti, spokeswoman for the alliance, which has followed a strategy of print and online reasoning aimed at working writers. "Now the problem is, I'm fighting sound bites," she said. Their message: "We are trying to negotiate a fair and responsible deal that respects the needs of both the WGA members as well as the producers," she said.
