America's Next Top Picket Line

Former Television Without Pity recapper Djb (also known as Daniel J. Blau) agreed to talk with me on the night of Monday, July 24, about the highly publicized strike of the writers from America's Top Model. Samantha West, communications specialist at the Writers Guild of America, west, also sat in on the call. The writers had put out the following joint statement: We are the overwhelming majority of those in the story department on America’s Top Model who want to be represented by the WGAw. While we are all very committed to this show and we are proud of the work we do, we are taking a stand to get basic benefits and protections. We have asked the Writers Guild of America, west, to represent us and negotiate a fair contract that is both economically feasible and affords our story department the protections of a Guild contract, including fair minimums, health insurance, pension benefits, residuals and credits. We have no interest in jeopardizing our positive working relationship. But what we are asking for isn't unreasonable. There is a double standard being applied as our peers in dramatic television work under the protections of a WGA contract. We should too. Potes: So Dan, for the Television Without Pity readers out there who don't know who you are, could you just give a brief introduction and tell us a little bit about your history at TWoP and how you started working at Top Model? Djb: Absolutely. Hi everyone, I'm Djb. I was one of Television Without Pity's first writers back when the internet was invented in 1999. The first show I worked on was the alien-kids-running-around-in-the-desert-blowing-stuff-up show Roswell, which was on the WB for two seasons and then went to UPN. After that got cancelled (several seasons later than it should have), I went to myriad other shows. I did a season of The Real World. I did something called Push, Nevada, which might have actually just been a dream I had, and then I did the entire run of Twin Peaks. Then I ended up on a bunch of reality shows that included the words My Big Fat... in them, and 97 seasons of The Bachelor. And then TWoP took on Top Model at the beginning of Season 2. I watched it and recapped it obsessively -- it was actually the first show on the website in a long time that I had also been a huge fan of. After Season 2 finished airing, UPN knew that they had a juggernaut on their hands, so they went back in time and re-aired the first season. So when they did that, I recapped the first season, as well. Potes: And when did you start working at Top Model? Djb: I started working at Top Model at the beginning of Cycle 4, so that would have been October, 2004. As I said, I had been writing for TWoP, and pretty much everyone who works at Top Model is a huge TWoP fan. All of the people are very active readers of the forum and also the recaps, and so I was offered my job there as a result of certain people at the Top Model offices reading the recaps. I felt very much like the starlet who was discovered in the drug store. So they got in touch with me and asked if I would be able to come in and meet with them. I was living in New York but luckily had a job that required that I travel to Los Angeles for about a week out of every month, so the timing worked out great and I met with them and began working on their fourth cycle. Potes: Well done! Did they care that you had said mean things about the show in your recaps? Djb: Well, it really depends...actually no, they didn't. I think that the response to the recaps is that if you're a fan of the show, you're going to watch it with that level of detail. And unlike certain shows that I have been forced to just say the most terribly negative things about, I'm not sure that I ever gave an episode of Top Model lower than an A- when I graded it. And if you can find one and prove me wrong, you go for it, but I loved every episode I ever saw in Cycles 1 and 2. And in fact, Potes, you will know that I was offered the job the day before I was supposed to begin recapping Cycle 3, and so I called poor Wing and said that I needed to move back to L.A. the week. She asked why and I told her, and then Potes, your phone rang, and you started the gig the night. Potes: It's true, I owe my illustrious career as a recapper all to you! Djb: That's what I meant. Potes: So what is your actual job title on Top Model? Djb: Show Producer is the name of my job and my department is made up of fourteen people. There are six Show Producers and six Associate Show Producers, and each Show Producer works with an Associate Show Producer. And then there's the head of our department and an assistant, as well. Potes: Okay, but what do you guys really do? Djb: We are the writers of America's Top Model. What we do is take all of the hundreds of hours of basic raw footage of the show -- of girls getting ready in the morning, of them eating cereal, of them talking on the phone to their boyfriends, and going to challenges, and all of the things that they do -- and turn it into 42 minutes of compelling television. Two Show Producers [per episode] work with an editor and take all of that raw material and turn it into one hour of compelling television. So we are the ones who submit treatments, which are story outlines, where we pick usually four girls per episode and give an A, B, C, and D story of what we're going to be concentrating on that week. We submit a treatment of what each of the story arcs is going to be. Then we submit an actual script, which is a line-by-line beat of what each girl is going to be doing that takes them from when they wake up in the house in the morning to when they go to their challenges and their photo shoots, and then ends in judging with one of the girls being eliminated. It is primarily a post-production job, that being we write everything after the fact, though we also do spend some time on set during the time that they're shooting our episodes, writing pick-ups for some of the talent, and that kind of thing. What we don't do -- and I want to make this very clear because I've seen this around -- we don't feed lines to the girls. When we say reality show, it is definitely reality. The fights that they're having, the things that they're doing --- they're actually having conversations with one other. But that doesn't stop the fact that we are doing an actual form of writing, as well. Potes: How do you respond when people ask the question, "How does someone write for reality television?" Djb: I think that it really is just a matter of step-by-stepping through it, because when that question is asked all it requires is a simple response. And then when you really walk people through what you're doing -- when you look at our counterparts in scripted television and you say, well do you do a treatment, do you do a story outline, do you take a blank page and fill it with things other people said in the service of making a story outline with plot arcs, and the answer to all of those questions is yes. There is something about it insofar that we do it after the fact that makes it a different skill set. But that doesn't make it any easier, and that doesn't make it not writing. Potes: Would you say that you and your colleagues like your jobs? Djb: That's the thing. The twelve of us who are out here on the picket line -- the six Show Producers and the six Associate Show Producers -- feel most strongly about what we're doing because of the fact that we love our jobs. We love what we do every day, we love the show, and the reason we wanted to work on it is because we are the show's biggest fans. We have an amazing time with one another. The twelve Show Producers have a combined forty-nine seasons of experience between us, which is an amazing level of loyalty to the show. That's rare in the entertainment industry where people are usually hopping from show to show, or working on ten shows a year. I will say that since the fall of 2004, I've taken every opportunity to come back to Top Model, and that's true of everyone I work with, as well. Potes: Now, you mentioned the picket line. So for the readers who don't know, or haven't read any of the stories out there on the web or in the paper, you guys walked off of the job on Thursday [July 20]. Is that right? Djb: We had on Thursday what was called a stutter-stop, which was a few hours in the morning out there doing kind of a peaceful demonstration, and the first official day of the strike was Friday. Do you want me to walk you through the sequence of it? Potes: That would be great. Now, to clarify, you guys are actually on strike now? Djb: We are actually on strike now. Potes: That's big doings. Djb: Yeah. People keep calling us Norma Rae, which we've amended to "Norma Rae-ality." Potes: I love it. So walk us through. Tell us how the strike came about, if it really happened just like in Norma Rae, and how you guys became affiliated with the Writers Guild of America (WGA). Walk me through the whole thing. Djb: This came from part of a broader campaign on the part of the WGA, who, as you'll see in the press and all over the place, has been trying to organize reality writers for some time. We started meeting with them over a month ago, speaking about the fact that we were a show that...again, with the level of time that people have spent there, it made sense. We hope that the show will be on for eight more seasons. We're in seven now, and the show has been renewed through eight, and we're hoping that it will be on for eight seasons after that. And so we, as I said, love working on the show so much, that all we are asking for are a few simple requests that will make our working environment enough for us to stay there indefinitely. You know, I always say that if they want me to sign a six-season contract I would be able to do it, and all I would need is a few simple requests, like health insurance. You know, that would sort of be my endgame -- I'd work there for the rest of my life. Djb: Anyway, we started working with the WGA individually on our show a while ago. As I said, we'd all been there together for quite some time, and they asked the twelve writers how we would feel about going to the production company and asking if they would speak with the network about becoming Guild for the writers. And so the WGA delivered a letter, and that was a week ago -- last Wednesday, July 12. And that went to Ken Mok, the head of the production company, and it was a request for recognition. And all we asked for was for him to sit down with the network and begin the process by which we would be able to become a union show under the Writers Guild rules. And then on the following Monday, July 17, we delivered a letter that was signed by all twelve of us that said that we, the overwhelming majority of the writers of America's Top Model, want to show our loyalty to the show, show our commitment to the show, and say to you directly, Ken, that we are very interested in being represented and becoming part of the WGA. Unfortunately, the response that we received was kind of as expected. On Monday night we received a response where the production company said that the best step for us would be a ballot on the part of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). We would have to take a vote and make sure that we had a statistical majority to actually move forward in trying to get Guild representation. Potes: Wait, they wanted to do the vote even though all twelve of you were behind this from the beginning? Djb: Well, exactly. I think the question you asked is exactly the point I'm trying to make. When the NLRB is suggested in a situation like this, it is widely viewed as a stalling tactic. Especially considering the nature of my work, which is, the seasons are short, the production cycle is short. Once something is brought to the NLRB for a vote, it can get bogged down in all sorts of bureaucratic processes, and it makes it completely untenable for us to do it. Because by the time this process was completed -- and then you can contest the results -- you can be over a year out, by which point none of us might even be working in the entertainment industry anymore. It really was viewed as a stalling tactic, so we knew we had to strike while the iron was hot. We were forced to take the step. Potes: And so that's when you guys had the demonstration on Thursday and on Friday declared a full-on strike? Djb: The network would be the CW, that's exactly right. Potes: And being on strike, you're not getting paid, right? Djb: That is correct. Which I think if anything just highlights the difficulty of the decision, obviously. Because we're trying to, you know, make a better life for ourselves and eventually the entire industry, and that has to start out with a certain amount of sacrifice. Potes: I know you mentioned a couple of the benefits that unionization would bring to you guys -- health insurance being primary among them. Can you tell me what else you're asking for? Djb: Absolutely. The main tent poles are health insurance first and foremost. There's also a pension, and then there's a wage minimum, and then residuals. Potes: And residuals would be from when the show is rerun on VH1 and that sort of thing? Djb: Yes. And we as a group -- we as a collective bargaining unit -- don't know exactly what the show makes every time it airs through advertising dollars, but VH1 has sort of become the ad hoc America's Top Network over the last couple of years. So you turn it on and there's kind of a marathon going on whenever VH1 is on the air, so we know that once you're airing it there it's sort of pure profit. And so we do know that the money exists. And again, we're not asking for anything unreasonable. Those are just the few basic tent poles. Potes: So you guys have no health insurance right now? Djb: We don't. Potes: Health insurance is really expensive. Djb: You know what my premiums are, right? Potes: How much are they? Djb: I pay $600 a month in health insurance. And you can print that. I am personally responsible for $600 a month of my own health insurance. And really, you know, any sort of financial gain is almost completely depleted by that. Potes: That's huge. Now what is the risk for you guys? Djb: That's a really interesting question, Potes. Because I, you know, again, going into this -- and the whole thing has just been gone into with the simplest of intentions -- of just wanting what is best for us to be able to work in the best possible environment and stay on this show for as long as possible. And so we are hoping that the risk pays off. You know, we are on the vanguard of something new. And this would be the first time that reality writers were covered under the Writers Guild. But if you look at the broader campaign of where this has been going for the last two years, it's been heading there the whole time. And anecdotally, behind the scenes, all we hear is heads of production companies in reality across the board, and people at the networks across the board, saying, "This is coming, it's only a matter of time, it's when some person or group of people becomes strong enough and brave enough to step forward, and then all the chips are going to fall from there." And so, will it happen with us? I absolutely hope so. Will it happen eventually, damn right. Potes: Is there a chance that the network could keep denying your requests, let your contracts run out, and not re-hire you? Djb: Well, I mean, you know, an actual firing is against the law. But what will happen besides that, I really don't know. We've been inside the network's head insofar as we've been able to anticipate all of their moves. We knew that they would tell us to file for a vote with the NLRB; we sort of knew where they would be on all sorts of things. But getting inside of their minds on what's going to happen here, I just don't know. [Samantha J. West, the communications specialist at the WGA, west, who was sitting in on the phone conversation, commented.] Samantha: One of the things we're saying is that the ball is in their court now. Djb: Exactly. I've been reading my favorite quote that I've seen in a bunch of different places, which was a spokesperson for the CW says -- and I don't know the exact wording -- but it's something like, we hope to get this resolved with the writers as soon as possible. And I couldn't agree more. Samantha: As far as we know, no calls have come in. So we're just waiting to hear from them. Potes: So you guys are really, like, pioneers. Is the WGA reaching out to writers on other shows as well? Djb: Yeah, I know that it started as part of a broader campaign. And one of the reasons that it's been so mutually beneficial is because we are twelve people who are just united in lock step. And the show is a long established show with an amazing following that's premiering on a new network. And so all of the stars aligned for us to be a great examples for other shows, and hopefully this will inspire their organizing, as well. Potes: And the benefits that you guys are trying to get, writers of scripted shows receive those same benefits, correct? Djb: That's exactly right. Potes: Have you guys gotten support from other writers on scripted shows? Djb: Very much. God bless them, we have the full support of the Writers Guild behind us, and we wouldn't be able to do this without them. They have been out there with us on the picket lines every day, we went to a meeting the night we decided -- Thursday night in the wee hours of the morning -- the twelve of us decided to do it NLRB style. We took an anonymous vote at the last minute and said are we going to do this, and every single one of the twelve of us voted yes. And we went into a Writers Guild meeting that was still going on in the room, announced our intentions, and were met with a standing ovation. So they have been absolutely unbelievable. And besides them we have other organizations behind us. Alan Rosenberg, the president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), came and spoke at our rally at the beginning of the strike on Friday morning. We have their full support. Again, other unions -- we've gotten amazing support from the Teamsters, who are one of the most powerful unions I can think of, and they are completely 100% behind us, as well. Potes: That's awesome. Djb: I know! We got the Teamsters, Potes! Potes: The Teamsters. I never imagined you and the Teamsters. Do you guys ever break into some rousing a cappella songs? Djb: You should see us, it's unbelievable. I'm going to be driving a semi. Well, you know how great I am on a cross-country drive. Potes: I do. You are excellent. So, what's it like being on a picket line? Who's been joining you guys, are you chanting things? Djb: As I said, I have never been on a picket line before, and neither has any of the other writers at America's Top Model, so really, I was asking these basic fundamental questions. I was like, how do you hold a sign to make it look fierce? We've become sort of like the Top Model girls. We're going to do a picket walk-off tomorrow. And so we are trying to keep it as positive as possible. And it really is easy to do so because we feel so great, and so sure, and so confident about what it is we're doing. But yesterday, I don't have exact numbers, but when this thing kicked off we walked in a big picket line circle up and down the streets in front of the production office, and there must have been over a hundred people there. Other members of the WGA, other reality show writers. As I said, we had the president of SAG, we had local assemblymen speak with us about labor strife and how they wanted to see it resolved in their district as quickly as possible. We had the broadest swap of people I can imagine. And supposedly, if you want to get all cross-platform, you can look it up on YouTube, because from what I hear some of the speeches were actually recorded yesterday and uploaded. So I'd be fascinated to see those myself. Potes: Any Janice Dickinson sightings in the picket line? Djb: Heh. Oh, poor Janice. Hey, are you still recapping that, by the way? Potes: I still am. Djb: Did you see, I just watched one of the ones, where it was like, "And screw you, Tyra Banks!" or something at the end of the episode? I guess it was the one where she went to the White Party? Potes: Yeah, I believe the exact quote was, "Eat your heart out, Tyra." Djb: Eat your heart out Tyra Banks! I was like, well, that's not what I thought that episode was about at all! It was so random. But there have currently been no sightings of Janice. Potes: There might be still, though. Djb: I think I saw Nole's dog run past the picket lines in his jeans. Potes: Well Janice is local, so you never know. Djb: Oh no! She'll come, like, wandering out of the hedges by the office all naked and disoriented, with a big sign that reads, "On strike against natural breasts." Potes: So are you guys out there all day, every day picketing? Djb: We are out here all day, every day. We are on Sepulveda Boulevard, so we have trucks driving by. And people in unions are sort of ideologically obligated to support other people who are trying to unionize, and so every trucker, every FedEx driver, everyone who is in a union who drives past is just honking and waving. It is a scene, man. I'm actually sitting in a trailer that we have parked outside of the building. We have bathrooms, we have food and water, we are absolutely a force to be reckoned with. I mean, make no mistake about it, we would like to be back at our desks working in as expedient a manner as possible, but while we are out here in the blazing southern California sun, we are certainly as motivated and unified a force as possible. Potes: You guys are bad-ass. Djb: Thanks, I know! Potes: So are you picketing weekends, too? Djb: You know, I was going to get a t-shirt that read, "I don't strike weekends," or alternately, "I don't strike for less than $10,000 a day," and I think the only reason that we wouldn't be striking weekends is because the offices are empty in the network, so there is no one to strike to, per se. But I've been doing a lot of private striking at my house. I got woken up by the cats this morning, so I went on strike against the cats, and you should have seen the looks on their poor little faces. They couldn't believe it. Potes: I might have to be a scab when it comes to the cats. Djb: Two little kittens involved in a labor dispute -- I just don't think they have what it takes. Potes: Well Miss Itty is very sympathetic. She's been walking around with a little sign all day to show her solidarity. Djb: That's good. We should put her in touch with my cats. I think there's definitely an organizing unit between them. Potes: Well, one subject that we haven't broached yet is Miss Tyra Banks. What's going on with her? Has she had any reaction to this? Djb: We, as part of the initial letter writing, also delivered a letter from the twelve of us that was also signed and delivered to Tyra. And we have not yet gotten any response to that. And we're very curious to hear what she thinks. So we are appealing to her, and to her agent, and to her union organization to see where she stands on all of this. Because, while this really is an issue between the CW and us, I would love to hear what Tyra thinks of it. Potes: I read in one of the articles that someone had a sign that said something like, "Tyra is union, why aren't we?" So she is actually a union member? Djb: Yes, she is a member of AFTRA, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. And also because of her film career, I would imagine that she's also in the SAG. Potes: Oh, her film career. Well on that note...Dan, this has been really great. Is there anything else that we didn't cover or that you'd like to say to wrap up? Djb: Yeah, as I said, this just has nothing to do with anybody personally, and it is entirely an issue between us and the network. And it's just something we're hoping to get hammered out, and it's just a few simple requests. And I could be back at my desk tomorrow morning, which would be the happiest thing that ever happened to me. Potes: Well everyone here in TWoP-land is rooting for you, I know, and will be following the story. We'll post updates in the forums. Djb: Thanks Potes! And we're looking forward to successfully getting the whole show on the air. Potes: I know! What will this mean for Cycle 7? Djb: We're going to cross that bridge when the time comes. Potes: Does Cycle 7 look like it's going to be a good one? Djb: I will just say that I do believe the show just keeps getting better and better. Potes: It does, I agree with you there. Well thanks, Dan, for taking time out of your picketing to talk to me and everyone at TWoP. Djb: It was my pleasure! Thanks, Potes.