HuffPost Writers & Editors Unanimously Ratify New WGA East Contract

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent CNN on Monday went live from a new state-of-the-art broadcasting facility in Abu Dhabi being touted as a new chapter in the network’s commitment to the Middle East.  The new high-tech CNN bureau, with a 10-million-pixel video wall and a suite of fully robotic HD cameras, is located on Abu Dhabi’s artificial Yas Island in the new Yas Creative Hub established to lure media industries to Abu Dhabi by twofour54, the government entity which is implementing the UAE’s capital city’s media and entertainment industry effort. The new CNN hub, which also includes four editing suites and a modern open-plan newsroom, increases the scale and scope of its UAE operation boosting Abu Dhabi’s role as “one of the network’s key international production hubs, alongside Atlanta, New York, London, and Hong Kong,” CNN said in a statement.

Standing room only crowds gathered last night at WGA membership meetings on both coasts to discuss the upcoming contract negotiations, which are set to begin on March 20.

Writers Guild of America East has filed its third unfair labor practice charge against Hearst Magazines as lengthy contract talks continue to drag on. The WGAE and Hearst Union claim in the National Labor Relations Board filing that Hearst “unilaterally implemented” uneven wage increases for some employees while the union’s negotiating committee was bargaining for percentage wage increases for all employees.

Rebecca Lenkiewicz will be this year’s recipient of the WGA West’s Paul Selvin Award in recognition of her adapted screenplay for She Said, the Universal film about the New York Times reporters who broke the story that exposed disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein. The guild said Thursday that she will be honored at the WGA Awards’ Los Angeles ceremony March 5 at the Fairmont Century Plaza.

Writer and director Tony Gilroy, who most recently created Andor for Disney+, sees “chaos” reshaping the entertainment industry. The good kind.

After two years of collective bargaining, the WGA East has filed another unfair labor practices charge against Hearst Magazines Media – this time for giving employees a raise while in contract negotiations with the guild. The guild, which says that this violates federal labor law, represents some 500 of the publishing giant’s editorial, video, design and photo staff at more than 25 brands, including Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar, Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Popular Mechanics, Car & Driver, Oprah Daily, Seventeen, Elle, Redbook and Woman’s Day.

The WGA will hold the last of its four scheduled membership meetings about its upcoming contract negotiations Thursday: one at the Sheraton Universal in Universal City, CA and at the other at the School of Visual Arts Theatre in New York City.

CBS today renewed three more scripted series, dramas NCIS, NCIS: Hawai’i and CSI: Vegas. With recent Season 2 orders for breakout freshmen Fire Country and So Help Me Todd, renewals of comedies Ghosts, The Neighborhood and Bob Hearts Abishola and with the FBI franchise, The Equalizer and Young Sheldon in the midst of multi-season pickups, that leaves Blue Bloods, S.W.A.T. and East New York as the three current CBS scripted series that are yet to get word on next season.

Anthony Mackie picked up Steve Rodger’s iconic shield and became Captain America in the final episodes of his Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. However, is his character Sam Wilson going to follow in Chris Evans‘ footsteps and lead the rest of the Avengers?

Some 800 writers gathered last night at the Hollywood Palladium to go over the WGA’s agenda for its upcoming negotiations for a new film and TV contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers. The current contract expires on May 1. The membership meeting was the second over the past week — the first drew 500 attendees — with one more gathering scheduled in L.A. and another in New York later this month.

In today’s episode of The Discourse, host Mike DeAngelo sits down to talk about con man movies with director Benjamin Caron (“The Crown,” “Andor,” “Wallander”). The director is currently promoting his film, “Sharper,” which follows multiple con men and women in New York City who are all searching for the perfect mark and the biggest take.

took to Twitter in a livestream, showing themselves delivering what appeared to a Valentine to BDG chief executive Bryan Goldberg. However, the item was actually an unfair labor act charge, which the group filed hours prior.The writers’ actions come after BDG allegedly laid off 39 unit members, with three active union members — Collette Reitz, former editor at “Elite Daily;” Emma Sarran Webster, former editor at “Mic,” and Sophie Worm, former video editor at “Some Spider.” The members say the company never shared a reason for their decision to layoff the three union supporters.“These three unit members did not squarely fit into the categories BDG laid out to the WGAE representatives – or in the Company’s public messaging – regarding the layoffs.

The WGA East has filed an unfair labor practice charge against the Bustle Digital Group, claiming that three of the 39 guild members who were laid off there recently were terminated “in retaliation for their concerted, protected union activity in violation of the National Labor Relations Act.”

Nearly 500 WGA members gathered today at the Writers Guild Theater in Los Angeles to hear their leaders discuss the guild’s upcoming negotiations for a new film and TV contract. The press wasn’t allowed inside, but out on the street, cheers and applause could be heard emanating from the meeting. This was the first of four member meetings that will be held this month, with two more scheduled in L.A. and one in New York.

The WGA West on Saturday will hold its first membership meeting to discuss its upcoming negotiations with the AMPTP for a new film and TV contract. Two other membership meetings are scheduled in Los Angeles later this month, and one will be held in New York.

In a show of solidarity, more than 400 film and TV writers – including Adam McKay, David Simon, Tina Fey, Alfonso Cuarón, Lilly Wachowski, John Waters and Alan Zweibel – have signed a petition calling on MSNBC to negotiate a fair first-time contract with the WGA East for the cable news network’s news writers and producers.

EXCLUSIVE: Kelly Hu (BMF, The Orville) has joined the cast of the CBS series in a recurring role. She will make her debut in episode 112 titled “Up in Smoke,” airing February 19.

The six-member editorial staff at Talking Points Memo has voted unanimously to ratify the WGA East’s new three-year contract with the political news website.

Podcast content creators at Crooked Media, complaining about the “degradation of our working conditions,” have unionized with the WGA East. According to the guild, an “overwhelming majority” of the podcast company’s 55 content creators have signed cards to unionize and are calling on management to voluntarily recognize the guild as their collective bargaining representative.

Viola Davis has joined the coveted circle of those who have won an Emmy, Oscar, Tony and Grammy, picking up the “G” in the “EGOT” title today as part of the pre-telecast for the 65th annual Grammy Awards.