Ageism Thwarts Older Writers in Hollywood : Television: A Writers Guild panel discussion airs grievances, but decisive action appears unlikely.

The young producer blames the agent. The agent blames the market. The writer blames the producer, the agent and the market.

For years, members of the Writers Guild of America have been complaining of age discrimination in the movie and television industries. Two reports commissioned by the guild in the past six years show a decline in prime-time television earnings for writers older than 40.

On Tuesday night, writers, producers and network executives gathered to confront the issue of ageism against writers in prime-time television at a guild forum called “Older Writers, Younger Writers: Common Ground.”

The common ground: Everyone says discrimination exists. The problem: No one knows what to do about it.

Emmy-winning writer-producer Bob Schiller, 71, who has written for shows from “I Love Lucy” to “All in the Family,” was one of nine panelists who spoke to the crowd of about 400 at the Writers Guild Theatre. He told of recently being hired with long-time partner Bob Weiskopf to write for a cable comedy show, only to have their ideas rejected by the young producer.

But discrimination is hard to prove and a difficult problem to solve, Schiller said, suggesting that older television writers practice their craft elsewhere.

One writer with a track record dating back to “Peyton Place” said that her agent advised her to throw out the last two pages of her resume so that her old credits wouldn’t date her. Another told of a screenplay being rejected when sent out by an older writing team but subsequently snatched up when re-packaged and sent as a work from a pair of “hot young guys from USC.”

Brian Frons, vice president of creative affairs at NBC Productions, said that the networks and studios can’t afford to discriminate against older writers in today’s competitive market but acknowledged that ageism does exist in the industry.

“The real problem is not an issue of discrimination but of job availability and access to the market and the way they (writers) present themselves to the market,” said agent Bob Broder of Broder, Kurland, Webb, Uffner, adding a widely held belief that young writers are often hired first because they are thought to better understand programming demands for their age group.

While Michael Russnow, chairman of the Writers Guild ageism committee, said that the ageism forum was simply a way to open a dialogue on the issue, frustrated audience members suggested that talk was not enough.

“Discrimination is illegal,” said one. “No one has pointed that out tonight, but it is. Why can’t we put a spotlight on those who discriminate?” he asked, suggesting that the guild publish a monthly update on companies with bad hiring records.

Other recommendations ranged from forming a mentor program pairing older and younger writers, to creating a guild rule that would eliminate names from scripts, avoiding prejudgment by the reader.

While some audience members implied that stiffer action by the guild might be necessary to address age discrimination, Mort Thaw, chair of the guild’s human resources committee, said that legal action is unlikely.