Verrone states his case on Capitol Hill
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Patric M. Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America, is in Washington today, updating lawmakers about the status of strike negotiations and the issues at stake.
Joined by Screen Actors Guild President Alan Rosenberg, Verrone is blitzing Capitol Hill, meeting with several members of Congress, including Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Reps. Howard L. Berman (D-Valley Village) and Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills).
“Because they are the representatives in the districts where our members are employed, where the studios exist, they need to know how the constituents are being treated,” Verrone said in a Senate cafeteria, where he took a brief break during his one-day trip. Berman and Waxman’s districts are home to many of the striking writers.
Lawmakers could do little to help resolve the strike at this point, other than expressing their views and possibly holding hearings to highlight the issues. But Verrone stressed he wasn’t asking for hearings.
“We’re asking for the CEOs of the conglomerates to get focused on our issues and get back to the bargaining table,” he said.
Verrone and Rosenberg also had meetings scheduled with two lawmakers who have oversight over the TV industry -- House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.) and Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who chairs the House Telecommunications and Internet subcommittee. In addition, the union heads had meetings with three of the five members of the Federal Communications Commission to discuss their long-standing concerns about media consolidation.
The FCC is considering a new proposal by Chairman Kevin J. Martin to allow companies to own a newspaper and a broadcast station in the 20 largest U.S. markets.
“When I got into this business 20 years ago, there were 30 companies where you could sell an idea. Now it’s down to six,” Verrone said. “The amount of independent production … in Hollywood is a fraction of what it used to be.”
-- Jim Puzzanghera
