In its ongoing negotiations with the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), Leftfield Entertainment, the largest "reality"/nonfiction production company on the East Coast, laid blame squarely on television networks for controlling the economics of making nonfiction shows and for making it necessary to propose poverty-level pay rates for Leftfield's writer-producers.
In response to Leftfield's argument, over one hundred "reality"/nonfiction writer-producers picketed A&E headquarters in Manhattan. A&E, which also controls channels like History and
fyi, is Leftfield's biggest network customer, airing well-performing shows like PAWN STARS, TINY HOUSE and COUNTING CARS.
Writer-producers are demanding to know if A&E, as Leftfield asserts, is the cause of race-to-the-bottom labor conditions, including poverty-level pay proposals.
The Guild also delivered an industry-wide petition, signed by nearly 900 nonfiction television writer-producers, to A&E that calls on the network to commit to working with production companies with fair minimum pay rates, safety and scheduling standards, paid time off and healthcare benefits. Read the full petition
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