WGA Strike: Pencils2MediaMoguls Campaign
November 19, 2007 by Kath Skerry
Pencils2MediaMoguls is a campaign endorsed by UnitedHollywood.com in support of the WGA to give the fans a voice in the current negotiation between the Writers Guild of America and the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers. All pencils purchased through this widget will be sent to the moguls who run the big six media conglomerates. Along with every delivery of pencils will also be contact information for non-profits who deal with child literacy. If the moguls refuse delivery of the pencils, United Hollywood will donate the pencils themselves. Any money left over after the deliveries are complete will be donated to the Union Solidarity Fund, an assistance fund set up to aid union members not in the WGA affected by the strike. Make your voice heard! We’re all on the same page.United Hollywood, Strike Points and some of the showrunners of your favorite TV shows decided that this is one way that fans can help support the cause and the writers.
(You can donate more than one box in support of your favorite show by changing the quantity of the boxes donated after you hit ‘Buy Now’. To support more than one show, just keep the PayPal window opened and come back to GMMR to enter another show name and hit submit ‘Buy Now’ again.All your donations will end up on one page.)
Personally, I’m not sure this is the most effective way for fans to be heard but this along with other fan efforts can do nothing but help the cause of the writers. I am supporting the campaign and the WGA in this way and if feel inclined, I encourage you to do the same.
Comments…
If you decide to support the WGA in this manner, please leave a comment and share with us which shows you supported by donating pencils. If you disagree with this manner of support, that’s fine too, but a simple “I disagree” works just as well as a self indulgent, nasty diatribe that is only going to get your comment deleted (ah, the beauty of having your own blog).
For more on this campaign please continue reading after the jump.
Notes from United Hollywood…
The following was lifted from UnitedHollywood.com
Okay, what is Pencils2MediaMoguls?
We’re asking people to use our site to buy pencils to send to the six media moguls who run the six corporate conglomerates.
Why pencils?
A lot of different fan sites were suggesting that people send pencils to networks and studios. United Hollywood and Strike Points met with some of the television showrunners, and together we decided to follow the fans’ lead.
Pencils have become the symbol of our cause: We are putting them down until we get a fair deal.
Symbolism, whatever. Let’s face it — isn’t this kind of a waste of pencils?
We were worried about that too, so we found a vendor who makes environmentally sensitive product: California Republic Stationers. Their pencils are made from sustainably harvested wood, which means they don’t deforest.
We’ll also send the media moguls suggestions about where they can donate the pencils to non-profits that teach kids how to write. After all, the CEOs aren’t writers. It’s not like they can use them.
What happens to the money from the pencils?
Anything we have left over from our costs will go into the Union Solidarity Fund, which was created to help non-WGA members affected by the strike.
So who are these “media moguls”?
They are the six men who run the multi-media conglomerates, the companies that control almost everything you see on tv or in the movies. These individual CEOs have the power and influence to make a fair deal and end the strike, if they choose.
Leslie Moonves, President, CEO
CBS Corporation
51 West 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019
www.cbscorporation.com
Jeffrey Immelt, CEO
General Electric (NBC/Universal)
100 Universal City Plaza
Universal City, CA 91608
www.nbcuni.com
Rupert Murdoch, Chairman, CEO
News Corporation (Fox)
1211 Avenue of the Americas
8th floor
New York, NY 10036
www.newscorp.com
Jeffrey L. Bewkes, President, COO
Time Warner Inc. (Warner Brothers)
1 Time Warner Center
New York, NY 10019
www.timewarner.com
Robert Iger, President, CEO
Walt Disney Company
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521
corporate.disney.go.com
Sumner Redstone, Chairman
Viacom
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
www.viacom.com
Why can’t I just buy some pencils and mail them myself?
You can! We just wanted to take our fans’ great idea and make it easier. We’re taking a leaf from the Jericho campaign in which fans contracted with one vendor who could pool all their purchases together. That way, instead of individual bags of nuts, fans sent truckloads of nuts to CBS.
We’ve contracted with a single vendor to buy all the pencils for the same reason. We can deliver all of them in bulk, a truckload at a time, so the impact will be (we hope) greater.
You can mail pencils yourself if you want to, but joining together seems to have a better chance of getting noticed. It’s worked in the past.
If you do decide to mail pencils yourself, just make sure they’re not sharpened. And please be polite. (We know how hard that is. Trust us.)
How come it’s a buck a box?
That price covers purchase and delivery of 12 pencils. (They’ll probably be packed by pallets instead of in individual boxes.) And did we mention the “sustainably forested” thing?
All right, responsible pencils, I get it. But in the end, what are you trying to accomplish here?
We want the media moguls to start negotiating in good faith. We want the strike to end with a fair deal for both sides.
If we get a fair deal, it helps the actors, the directors, and the below-the-line crew members. Their deals are directly tied to ours.
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Filed under Writers Strike
I’ve decided to donate 30 boxes on pencils – one box for each of the scripted shows that I have a season pass on my DVR. Ugh..so many. (it’s sad to have all these shows listed out.)
Chuck, Prison Break, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, House, Pushing Daisies, Private Practice, Dirty Sexy Money, Gossip Girl, Ugly Betty, 30 Rock, The Office, Scrubs, Grey’s Anatomy, Friday Night Lights, Moonlight, Desperate Housewives, Brothers and Sisters, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Entourage, Family Guy, Heroes, Journeyman, Life, Scrubs, My Boys, Rescue Me.
I’m going to buy some boxes when I get home, mainly in support for The Office, but also for Lost, Chuck, Pushing Daisies, Heroes, 30 Rock, HIMYM, Gossip Girl and Friday Night Lights.
You’ve probably read it already but Mindy posted another blog about the strike. These are the people I am supporting.
I sent letters to studios, and I will continue to not watch any network “promotions”. I’m not sure if I’ll participate in sending pencils – but I’m sure it can’t hurt.
I purchased 5 boxes in support of The Office, my favorite show EVER. This strike flippin’ sucks, but I support the writers 110%!!!!
I bought 3 boxes, but couldn’t decide which shows to pick, so didn’t pick any. 🙂
I bought 20 boxes in support of my favorite shows – Supernatural, Bones, Moonlight, DSM, Private Practice. Mostly I thought just a show if support for the WGA was the biggest thing. A giant truckload or 6 of pencils dropped off at the studios would do that.
I did one box for the office. I don’t know how much affect it will have, but its was only a dollar and if it helps just a little bit in getting tv back sooner I’ll be happy.
Thank you all for your support. The campaign seesm to have ignited a spark with fans across the globe. In less than four days we’ve sold over 225,000 pencils and still going strong. Its our hope that we’ll be making that first delivery soon. The first goal at hand is to reach the one million mark. Those of you who have contributed are helping us make that goal come true and we thank you.