Aug 10, 2006 1:52 pm US/Pacific
'America's Next Top Model' Workers On Strike
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―
-
-
One dozen people who work on "America's Next Top Model' are picketing because they want union pay and benefits.
One dozen striking TV workers are demanding their bosses face reality.
The "America's Next Top Model" employees contend their tasks on the series should be classified as writing and earn them the union pay and benefits they're not getting in their real-life drama.
At stake is more than a successful program that will help anchor the new CW network in its fall launch. The strike against "America's Next Top Model" also is the latest and most aggressive move in the Writers Guild of America West's two-year effort to unionize reality T.V.
Sara Sluke and Kai Bowe have been picketing outside the Los Angeles production offices of "America's Next Top Model" since walking out more than two weeks ago. They said their challenge is to avoid casting doubt on reality T.V.'s legitimacy.
They're not claiming they create dialogue for contestants and are eager to dispel that assumption. But the women argue the work they do in shaping the series constitutes storytelling and they want to be represented by the WGA, which is eager to do so.
The striking staffers said they are responsible for distilling about 200 hours of raw footage into a cohesive and dramatic episode.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
