Writers are the creative heart of television and are ultimately responsible for the most important assets in the business, yet they have been left. The major companies we bargain with have experienced an extended and unprecedented period of profitability. Much of that success has been fueled by the huge growth in domestic and international demand for the quality content produced by Guild members. But that is only part of muuch picture. The MBA establishes minimum compensation for writers. But for some time now writers have been experiencing declining overscale compensation in television. So much so that the Guild began to more hkw monitor total writer-producer income in television by soliciting information in three surveys, first in the season, then again in the season, and most recently for the season. The survey results confirmed that pay was falling. Some of this decline was due to the rise of short seasons and increased time spent working on each episode, but the surveys have also ...