Showrunners protest Emmys snub

[annabelleleigh]

Perhaps you're already aware that the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS) has decided this year to omit the writing awards from the live Emmys broadcast. As if there would be anything for actors to say, or directors to direct, or "reality" shows to pretend -- on networks to air, period -- without writers.

In fact, without writers there would be no Primetime Emmys show. (How's that for irony?)

Today, in response, the WGA sent out the following release. Note the familiar names I've boldfaced below.

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TV SHOWRUNNERS PROTEST CHANGES TO PRIMETIME EMMYS TELECAST

Released by the Writers Guild of America
August 3, 2009

LOS ANGELES -- Writers are overwhelmingly opposed to the short-sighted attempt by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences to remove any of the live presentations of writing awards from the Primetime Emmys. The categories that the Academy seeks to exclude are key awards and must be presented live. WGA showrunners have issued the following letter of protest in response to the Academy's planned changes to the broadcast:

We, the undersigned showrunners and executive producers of television's current line-up of programs, oppose the Academy of Television Arts and Science's decision to remove writing awards from the live telecast. This decision conveys a fundamental understatement of the importance of writers in the creation of television programming and a symbolic attack on the primacy of writing in our industry. We implore ATAS to restore these awards to their rightful place in the live telecast of the 2009 Emmy Awards.

David Fury, 24
Alex Gansa, 24
Evan Katz, 24
Carter Covington, 10 Things I Hate About You
Michelle Nader, 100 Questions
Rebecca Sinclair, 90210
Claudia Lonow, Accidentally on Purpose
Mike Barker, American Dad
Jeff Melvoin, Army Wives
Ronald D. Moore, Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, Virtuality
Victor Fresco, Better off Ted
Bill Prady, Big Bang Theory
Mike Kelley, The Beautiful Life, Swingtown
Mark V. Olsen, Big Love
Will Scheffer, Big Love
Hart Hanson, Bones
Stephen Nathan, Bones
Vince Gilligan, Breaking Bad
Molly Newman, Brothers & Sisters
Matt Nix, Burn Notice
Tom Kapinos, Californication
Jane Espenson, Caprica
Andrew W. Marlowe, Castle
Chris Fedak, Chuck
Matt Miller, Chuck
Scott Rosenbaum, Chuck
Robert Munic, The Cleaner
Rich Appel, The Cleveland Show
James Duff, The Closer
Jennifer Johnson, Cold Case
Greg Plageman, Cold Case
Garrett Donovan, Community
Neil Goldman, Community
Ed Bernero, Criminal Minds
Carol Mendelsohn, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Naren Shankar, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Peter Lenkov, CSI: New York
Pam Veasey, CSI: New York
Rick Eid, Dark Blue
Doug Yung, Dark Blue
Matt Berry, Desperate Housewives
Marc Cherry, Desperate Housewives
Bob Daily, Desperate Housewives
Clyde Phillips, Dexter
Melissa Rosenberg, Dexter
Charles H. Eglee, Dexter
Maggie Friedman, Eastwick
David S. Rosenthal, Eastwick
Doug Ellin, Entourage
Thania St. John, Eureka
Jill Franklyn, Failure to Fly
Steve Callaghan, Family Guy
David A. Goodman, Family Guy
Mark Hentemann, Family Guy
Seth McFarlane, Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, American Dad
Chris Sheridan, Family Guy
Marc Guggenheim, FlashForward
Luke Reiter, The Forgotten
Jason Katims, Friday Night Lights, Parenthood
Jeff Pinkner, Fringe
J.H. Wyman, Fringe
David X. Cohen, Futurama
Ira Ungerleider, Gary Unmarried
Michelle King, The Good Wife
John Altschuler, The Goode Family
Dave Krinsky, The Goode Family
Patrick Sean Smith, Greek
Shonda Rhimes, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice
Steve Peterman, Hannah Montana
Michael Poryes, Hannah Montana
Glen Mazzara, HawthoRNe
Adam Armus, Heroes
Garnett Lerner, House
David Shore, House
Brad Kern, Human Target
Jon Steinberg, Human Target
Colette Burson, Hung
Dmitry Lipkin, Hung
Michael B. Kaplan, I'm In the Band
Neal Baer, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Rene Balcer, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Walon Green, Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Samuel Baum, Lie to Me
Shawn Ryan, Lie To Me
Daniel Voll, Lie to Me
Janet Leahy, Life UneXpected
Kathleen McGhee-Anderson, Lincoln Heights
Carlton Cuse, Lost
Adam Horowitz, Lost
Edward Kitsis, Lost
Damon Lindelhof, Lost
Matt Weiner, Mad Men
Holly Sorensen, Make It or Break It
Glenn Gordon Caron, Medium
Todd Slavkin, Melrose Place
Darren Swimmer, Melrose Place
Michael Royce, Men of a Certain Age
Gretchen Berg, Mercy
Aaron Harberts, Mercy
Liz Heldens, Mercy
Jeffrey Lieber, Miami Trauma
Steven Maeda, Miami Trauma
Eileen Heisler, The Middle
DeAnn Heline, The Middle
Steve Levitan, Modern Family
Shane Brennan, NCIS; NCIS: Los Angeles
Jeff Astrof, The New Adventures of Old Christine
Kari Lizer, The New Adventures of Old Christine
Andrew Dettman, Numb3rs
Ken Sanzel, Numb3rs
Greg Daniels, The Office
Paul Lieberstein, The Office
Micahel Schur, The Office, Parks & Recreation
David Hudgins, Past Life
Ellen Kreamer, Plummer
Jon Cowan, Private Practice
Stan Zimmerman, Rita Rocks
Michael Rauch, Royal Pains, Love Monkey
Shaun Cassidy, Ruby & the Rockits
Marsh McCall, Ruby & the Rockits
Tom Hertz, Rules of Engagement
Matthew Carlson, Sons of Tucson
Nancy Miller, Saving Grace
Neil Goldman, Scrubs
Al Jean, The Simpsons
Matt Selman, The Simpsons
Kurt Sutter, Sons of Anarchy
Michael Feldman, Sonny With a Chance
Steve Marmel, Sonny With a Chance
Steve DeKnight, Spartacus: Blood & Sand
Ann Biderman, Southland
John Wells, Southland
Danny Kallis, Suite Life on Deck
Eric Kripke, Supernatural
Carol Barbee, Three Rivers
Jay Kogen, The Troop
Thomas W. Lynch, The Troop
Eric Overmyer, Treme
Susan Beavers, Two and a Half Men
Lee Aronsohn, Two and a Half Men, Big Bang Theory
Jill Soloway, United States of Tara
Jeffrey Bell, V
Scott Peters, V
Jack Kenny, Warehouse 13
David Simkins, Warehouse 13
Roberto Benabib, Weeds
Jenji Kohan, Weeds
Todd J. Greenwald, Wizards of Waverly Place
Peter Murietta, Wizards of Waverly Place
Matt Dearborn, Zeke and Luther
Tom Burkhard, Zeke and Luther

John F. Bowman
David Chase
David Milch
Phil Rosenthal
Patric Verrone

The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) is a labor union representing writers of motion pictures, television, radio and Internet programming, including news and documentaries. Founded in 1933, the Guild negotiates and administers contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of its members. It is involved in a wide range of programs that advance the interests of writers, and is active in public policy and legislative matters on the local, national and international levels. For more information on the WGAW, please visit: www.wga.org.

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[annabelleleigh]

Here's the industry's take on the story.

I boldfaced a paragraph below to highlight why I, personally, don't watch the Emmys anymore -- although I'm also not interested in seeing "stars" from "American Idol" and other such popular fare on the Emmys either. Are any of you?

Low-rated Emmys shows are simply another manifestation of broadcasting's death rattle. There is no "broad"casting anymore, just a series of various size niche markets.

In other words, IMHO, the ATAS's new strategy for boosting the Primetime Emmys audience numbers isn't going to work anyway so put the writing awards back in the live ceremony.

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Emmy changes: Some awards to be taped

By Lynn Elber
Associated Press
August 1, 2009

LOS ANGELES — The Emmy Awards, trying to pull out of a ratings spiral, will give less airtime to some winners and more to popular shows and stars.

The plan calls for "timeshifting" eight of the 28 awards by recording their presentation before the show airs live, Don Mischer, the ceremony's executive producer, said Thursday. An edited version of the winners' acceptances will be shown during the ceremony.

That will save up to 15 minutes during the three-hour Sept. 20 telecast, time that can be given over to more audience-friendly fare, possibly including some interactive opportunities for viewers, Mischer said. Details have yet to be worked out, he said.

"Our job is to make an entertaining show that appeals to the maximum number of people but, most importantly, maintains the integrity of the Emmy brand," Mischer told a teleconference.

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' board of governors approved the proposal Wednesday night.

The academy is walking a fine line, trying to inject life into the Emmys without alienating its members. The eight awards will be split equally among directing, writing, acting and producing; a preliminary list includes, for example, writing for a drama series.

"I don't look at it as a second-class position," Mischer said.

Emmy viewership has suffered as academy voters lavish attention on deserving but little-watched cable shows, like last year's best drama winner "Mad Men," and largely snub top-rated broadcast series.

That's a painful slap for the four major broadcast networks, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, which take turns airing the Emmys but increasingly see their programming ignored.

The 12 most-watched series from last season, including "American Idol" and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," garnered only two awards, Mischer said.

The result in 2008 was the least-watched Emmy ceremony ever, with 12.3 million viewers. Other awards shows have been able to reverse similar ratings slides and the Emmys must do the same to remain relevant, the producer said.

That was borne out by academy-commissioned research: Potential viewers indicated they didn't tune in because the Emmys featured show they didn't know and weren't interested in.
Mischer noted that last month's Tony Awards included numbers from popular musicals "Mamma Mia!" and "Legally Blonde," which are touring the country but weren't among the nominees.

The new approach will require a number of changes, including getting the audience into place earlier at the Nokia Theatre to allow for the eight awards to be recorded shortly before the ceremony airs. That will mean an earlier start to the red carpet.

Neil Patrick Harris, who was host of the Tonys, has that role for the Emmys airing on CBS.

On the Net:
www.emmys.org

[DonnaJo]

Thank you, Annabelle.

That will save up to 15 minutes during the three-hour Sept. 20 telecast, time that can be given over to more audience-friendly fare, possibly including some interactive opportunities for viewers, Mischer said. Details have yet to be worked out, he said.

Ugh. taking out the writing awards to show that? Think even I'll skip it this year, and I always watch the show.

It's ludicrous to give awards to anyone involved in reality shows. I know it's "acting" but it's God awful acting. And this is from someone who does watch "American Idol" for the singing aspect. Loved me some David Cook in 2008. This year? Blah.

[annabelleleigh]

Going off topic here...but maybe DJ (and others) you would be interested in the following piece on reality shows from this past Sunday's New York Times. It explains a lot about the "performances" on them.

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TV Contestants: Tired, Tipsy and Pushed to Brink

By Edward Wyatt
The New York Times
August 2, 2009

LOS ANGELES — In the first episode of this season’s “Hell’s Kitchen,” the 16 aspiring chefs clamber out of a bus and canter into the kitchen of Gordon Ramsay’s reality show restaurant like convicts on a jailbreak. If the current season is like earlier ones, that is not so far from the truth.

“They locked me in a hotel room for three or four days” before production started, said Jen Yemola, a Pennsylvania pastry chef who was on the 2007 season of “Hell’s Kitchen,” a cooking competition. “They took all my books, my CDs, my phone, any newspapers. I was allowed to leave the room only with an escort. It was like I was in prison.”

Long workdays and communication blackouts are largely the rule for contestants on reality shows, a highly lucrative genre that has evolved arguably into Hollywood’s sweatshop. Unscripted series now account for more than one-quarter of all primetime broadcast programming — and essentially the entire day on cable channels like Discovery, Bravo and A&E. The most popular reality series, “American Idol,” has commanded advertising rates as high as $1 million for a 30-second spot.

But with no union representation, participants on reality series are not covered by Hollywood workplace rules governing meal breaks, minimum time off between shoots or even minimum wages. Most of them, in fact, receive little to no pay for their work.

It can make for a miserable experience but compelling entertainment, creating a sort of televised psychological experiment that keeps contestants off-balance and vulnerable.

Most reality series have contestants sign nondisclosure agreements that include million-dollar penalties if they reveal what happened on set. But interviews with two dozen former contestants — most of whose agreements expired after three years — from half a dozen reality series suggest that the programs routinely use isolation, sleeplessness and alcohol to encourage wild behavior.

During the 2006 season of the popular ABC dating show “The Bachelor,” the contestants waited in vans for several hours while the crew set up for a 12-hour “arrival” party where, two contestants said, there was little food but bottomless glasses of wine. When producers judged the proceedings too boring, they sent out a production assistant with a tray of shots.

“If you combine no sleep with alcohol and no food, emotions are going to run high and people are going to be acting crazy,” said Erica Rose, a contestant that year.

Things were not very different on “Project Runway,” a fashion-design competition shown first on Bravo and now on Lifetime Television. Diana Eng says she was so tired after multiple 18-hour days of shooting the program’s 2005-6 season that she was sometimes awoken by the camera crew standing over her.

“One morning they scared me so bad I jumped and screamed,” she said. “They said that wasn’t good, so I had to pretend to wake up again.”

Producers of reality shows say that participants know what they are getting into when they sign up for a show. Even if contestants have not watched previous seasons — and most have — detailed contracts specify that anything they do or say is fair game for broadcast.

Mike Fleiss, the creator of “The Bachelor,” and Arthur Smith, an executive producer of “Hell’s Kitchen,” declined to be interviewed for this article. Executives of ABC and Fox, which broadcast those series, also would not be interviewed.

Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz, the principals of the company Magical Elves, which produced the first five seasons of “Project Runway,” said in a written statement that the show kept contestants isolated “to ensure fairness and prevent cheating,” as well as to prevent results from leaking.

“We always give contestants the best conditions we can,” the executives said. “Our budgets are less than half what a similar network show would have, and that means very long days for cast and crew, but our contestants are fed at least every six hours, and there are always snacks and water available.”

Others who have studied the genre, however, say that reality competitions often make participants emotionally and physically dependent on the producers.

“The bread and butter of reality television is to get people into a state where they are tired, stressed and emotionally vulnerable,” said Mark Andrejevic, an associate professor of communications studies at the University of Iowa and the author of “Reality TV: The Work of Being Watched.”

“That helps make them more amenable to the goals of the producers and more easily manipulated.”

Chloe Dao, the winner of the 2005-6 season of “Project Runway,” said that the filming would usually start at about 6 in the morning, “and we finished sewing every day around midnight.” The contestants then would tape the “confessionals,” in which they speak directly to the camera. “We would get to sleep at 1 to 3 a.m., and wake up again at 6 or 7.”

The lack of sleep affected their performance, Ms. Dao said. “That’s why every season when you get to the final challenge, we’re all terrible — because we’re exhausted.”

On “Hell’s Kitchen,” contestants said they were usually awakened at about 6 a.m. and then taken to the kitchen for a challenge. The losing team had to work on preparation for the night’s dinner from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dinner service often lasted until 11 p.m., when contestants had to clean the kitchen, then deliberate about who should be nominated for elimination. The lineup with Mr. Ramsay, at which one contestant would be sent home, and exit interviews and confessionals often lasted until after 2 a.m.

Elsie Ramos, a New Jersey secretary on the 2005 season of “Hell’s Kitchen,” said she spent roughly four weeks shooting episodes of the series, “and I don’t think I ever slept more than five hours a night.”

Anyone who has watched an episode of “Hell’s Kitchen” knows it does not look like a pleasant place to work. Gordon Ramsay tends to scream and curse, occasionally while shoving a plate of food into a contestant’s chest. During those periods of sleeplessness and stress, the participants are usually left without their familiar support systems: Phones, computers and periodicals are taken away before the start of taping.

On “Project Runway,” when contestants were allowed to make a rare phone call, it was monitored by a producer, contestants say. They were also not allowed to listen to music.

Jessica Cabo, from the 2005 “Hell’s Kitchen,” said even the production crew would not interact with contestants. “The only person I ever felt close to was the sound guy,” she said, “because he was sticking a microphone up my shirt every day.”

The intent, said the contestant Ms. Yemola, seemed to be “to make you feel your most insecure.” When she once tried to engage one of Mr. Ramsay’s assistants in conversation, Ms. Yemola said, a producer emerged from backstage and quietly dressed down the assistant.

Reality series regularly show contestants drinking to excess. “When we arrived, there was liquor in the refrigerator, before we even put food in,” said Zulema Griffin, from the 2005-6 “Project Runway.” “I felt like it was a passive-aggressive way of encouraging alcohol consumption.”

Contestants on all of the series acknowledged that the producers never forced them to drink. “The producers know that alcohol ignites emotions and you get better responses for TV,” said Jeanette Pawula, who was eliminated halfway through “The Bachelor: Rome” in 2006.

While contestants sign contracts with boilerplate warnings about physical dangers and emotional stress, Mr. Andrejevic, the Iowa professor, called it “disingenuous” for producers to suggest that contestants were adequately warned of the conditions they would face."

The rest of the story at

www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/business/media/02reality.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=reality%20shows&st=cse

[jeffan]

"TV Contestants: Tired, Tipsy and Pushed to Brink"...

I've just read this Annabelle and I'm gobsmacked:

1) It's like a form of brain-washing, and

2) some people will sell their souls for so-called fame.

I've never been a reality show fan in any of its incarnations, but this has put me off even more.

[annabelleleigh]

Happy ending for the TV writers and showrunners (including our principled Rene Balcer and Walon Green who signed the protest petition)! See piece below. Boldfaces mine.

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Emmy drops time-shift plans
Academy, CBS reverse decision after criticism

By Cynthis Littleton and Brian Lowry
Variety
August 12, 2009

Excerpt:

"In response to pressure from the creative community and a lack of public support from other Big Four nets, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and CBS did an about-face on Wednesday on the plan to "time-shift" the presentation of eight kudos during the Sept. 20 Emmy Awards telecast.

The TV Acad had intended to pre-tape eight award presentations in the hour leading up to the 5 p.m. PT start of the live three-hour telecast and then run clips of those presentations throughout the ceremony. Yet just two weeks after the board overwhelmingly approved the final changes, the TV Acad confirmed that this year's telecast will include the usual roster of 28 nods presented live....

...The fight that erupted after the time-shifting decision was announced boiled down to a question of respect for various disciplines -- the plan was to drop two awards each from the writing, directing, acting and producing fields -- but also a case of critical darlings vs. mainstream hits....

...But the WGA, DGA and SAG came out strongly against the decision -- which amounted to shifting half of the eight writing and directing awards that have traditionally been presented on the live Emmycast and disproportionately affected longform programming. A group of more than 150 showrunners and screenwriters last week protested the move, calling it "a symbolic attack on the primacy of writing in our industry."


Read the full article at:
www.variety.com/article/VR1118007199.html

[jeffan]

Aug 3, 2009 20:35:07 GMT -5 annabelleleigh said:

Perhaps you're already aware that the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS) has decided this year to omit the writing awards from the live Emmys broadcast. As if there would be anything for actors to say, or directors to direct, or "reality" shows to pretend -- on networks to air, period -- without writers.

In fact, without writers there would be no Primetime Emmys show. (How's that for irony?)

Thank you for the update Annabelle.

Ironic indeed, the marginalization of the writers was a shoddy stunt.

[DonnaJo]

What a happy update! Thanks Annabelle. ;D

And I wanted to say how fascinating that article you posted about what reality show contestants go through. It's barbaric.

[Ladyheather]

Some will do anything for their 15 minutes.

Poor writers. Do some people think these shows just happen? The writers need to be recognized in a live presentation.

Thanks for the article.