WGA West Issues “Call To Action” To Curb Media Consolidation: “One Of The Root Causes” Of The Strike

deadline.com:

Calling media consolidations “one of the root causes” of its 109-day-old strike, the WGA West today issued a “Call to Action,” urging members to file public comments with the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice in support of proposed revisions to their Merger Guidelines – a policy document designed to guide law enforcement around consolidation.

The “Call to Action” comes after the fourth straight day of bargaining with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to end the writers strike and the day after the WGA West released a report calling for more government regulation of what it calls the “anti-competitive practices” of Disney, Amazon and Netflix, which it accuses of “abusing their dominance to further disadvantage competitors, raise prices for consumers, and push down wages for the creative workforce.” “Make your voice heard about the harms of media consolidation,” the guild said in a message to members today. “Share your thoughts on media consolidation with policymakers at the FTC and the DOJ!” “More than 100 days into our strike, as we continue to fight for the sustainability of our profession, events in Washington, D.C.

provide an opportunity for writers to shine a light on one of the root causes of the strike: media consolidation,” the guild said.

The message goes on to say: “For decades, the WGA has advocated for stronger antitrust oversight, bringing attention to the ways that mergers and vertical integration in our industry – from AT&T-Time Warner to Warner Bros.-Discovery to Amazon-MGM to Disney-Fox – have consolidated the power of our employers and harmed writers as well as the diversity of content.  “In numerous reports and policy filings – including a new report called