David Zaslav Shoots Down Claims That Cost-Conscious Media Companies Are ‘Glad’ Writers Are on Strike
variety.comJennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav responded to the writers strike following the release of the company’s Q1 earnings report Friday, shooting down claims that some companies are “glad” that the the Writers Guild of America (WGA) is picketing instead of writing. “We’re not glad,” Zaslav said during an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Day 4 of the writers strike. “In order to create great storytelling, we need great writers, and we need the whole industry to work together,” the WBD chief said. “And everybody deserves to be paid fairly.
So our number one focus is, let’s try and get this resolved. Let’s do it in a way that that the writers feel that they’re valued, which they are, and they’re compensated fairly.
And then off we go. Let’s tell great stories together.” The WGA work stoppage began Tuesday, following the guild’s inability to ink a last-minute deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) before the deadline Monday night.
Friday marks the fourth day that the WGA has been on strike, with members coming out in droves to picket in front of studio locations and offices in NYC and LA.
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