DEIA & THE 2023 MBA NEGOTIATIONS

“While steady progress has been made in recent years both in front of and behind the camera, change needs to happen faster, especially with creators and leadership roles on the shows… As a network with ambitions to be a unifier and an agent of change at this important time, these new initiatives will help accelerate efforts to broaden our storytelling and make CBS programming even more diverse and inclusive.”

- George Cheeks
President and Chief Executive Officer
CBS Entertainment Group
Los Angeles Times, July 13, 2020

During the racial reckoning of 202o…

Most of the AMPTP studios issued statements and made commitments to DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Accessibility) efforts similar to the quote above. But what have they actually done to fulfill them? Numerous projects by historically excluded writers were put into development, but very few actually made it to air. More historically excluded writers were hired to TV writers rooms but a significant percentage of them have been denied opportunities to acquire the skills they need to grow their careers because studios continue to limit the length of writers’ contracts and cut shows’ budgets.

Studios must do more than issue statements to effect change. Many of the 2023 MBA deal points can ensure all writers - especially those from historically excluded communities - have viable career paths ahead of them. They can also help force studios to make good on their promises and move DEIA corporate culture and authentic, inclusive, and responsible storytelling efforts in a more positive direction.

THE MBA AND THE FUTURE OF HISTORICALLY EXCLUDED WRITERS’ CAREERS

MINIMUM WRITERS ROOM SIZE & DEIA

According to the WGAW’s Inclusion & Equity Report 2022, the lower and mid-levels in writers rooms are filling out with BIPOC writers.* This is good news. This also means that most historically excluded writers are still climbing the ladder. In addition to maintaining the stability of our union, imposing minimums on the size of writers rooms helps ensure historically excluded writers continue to climb the ladder and make it to the top. They can then helm their own shows and tell stories about their respective communities through a more authentic lens.

* Stats by title for trans/non-binary, other LGBTQIA+, and Disabled writers were not available.

MINI-ROOM PREMIUMS VS. A GIG ECONOMY

In the past five years, a third (32%) of historically excluded writers worked in a mini-room, per TTIE’s 2022 Behind the Scenes Report. Only 39% were paid above WGA scale and usually for short periods of time. In addition, 41% of respondents said their mini-rooms did not get picked up. This greatly limits the ability of TV writers to make ends meet, especially if they can only acquire work in one or two mini-rooms per year and receive no residuals from these shows to help support them through gaps in employment. This has led to 47% of BIPOC writers having to take jobs outside the industry and Disabled writers having to rely on family support (52%) or public support like unemployment (72%) to survive. If mini-rooms are here to stay, mini-room premiums are necessary to help writers make a living wage so that writing for TV can continue to be a career and not just gig work for well-resourced people.

DURATION OF EMPLOYMENT MINIMUMS & CAREER DEVELOPMENT

TV writers at all levels are watching the industry’s apprenticeship model die a slow death with the proliferation of mini-rooms and the streaming model (where all episodes of a season are written prior to production, leaving only one or two writers to cover set and post production for the show). According to TTIE’s 2022 Behind the Scenes Report, 56% of lower- and mid-level writers did not cover set on their most recent show. This most significantly impacts historically excluded writers, because most of them are currently in those stages of their careers. Mandating a minimum number of writers to be employed through production and post will help historically excluded writers acquire the skills they need to become competent showrunners in the future and will produce higher quality content overall.

THE MBA AND THE FUTURE OF AUTHENTIC, INCLUSIVE, AND RESPONSIBLE STORYTELLING

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE & STEREOTYPICAL STORYTELLING

AI writing programs generate story based on scripts they have been fed from the many years of Hollywood’s existence. We’re talking decades of storytelling that propagated and perpetuated harmful stereotypes about historically excluded communities – e.g., African American and Latinx men as violent gang members or drug dealers, Muslims as terrorists, gay men as deviant predators, trans people as serial killers, Disabled people as violent or suicidal because of their disabilities (see TTIE’s factsheets for a more comprehensive list of harmful stereotypes by community). If AI is allowed to replace TV writers rooms, authentic, inclusive, and responsible storytelling about historically excluded communities will suffer, and Hollywood narratives will continue to severely impact us all in negative, harmful, and even dangerous ways.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE VS. THE WRITERS ROOM

Based on their refusal to regulate AI, the AMPTP may want to reduce writers rooms to only an AI program and a showrunner. According to the WGAW’s Inclusion & Equity Report 2022, 81% of showrunners are white. If their POVs are not bolstered by historically excluded writers working in diverse and inclusive writers rooms, stories about most historically excluded communities will either not be told or, despite best intentions, will continue to be told from inauthentic and sometimes problematic POVs.

DURATION OF EMPLOYMENT MINIMUMS & AUTHENTIC STORYTELLING

Story needs time to develop. “First thought theater” and the “lowest hanging fruit” are the ideas that usually get thrown out as stories become more nuanced. They’re also the ideas that often draw on old tropes and stereotypes, the ones that have negatively impacted historically excluded communities since Hollywood began. This is why breaking 10 episodes in 10 weeks (for example) can be a hindrance to authentic, inclusive, and responsible storytelling and produce dangerous effects for historically excluded communities (see TTIE’s factsheets for more information about harmful stereotypes by community). Establishing a minimum number of employment weeks per episode allows time for writers to move past common tropes and helps avoid stereotypical and damaging portrayals of historically excluded communities.