Hollywood’s film and television writers are on strike, after negotiations broke down between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and major television networks.

At the core of the disagreement between writers and studios is the issue of writes for new media.

Issues the WGA wants to address include:

• Coverage and minimums for writing for the Internet and other non-traditional media.
• Addressing reuse on the Internet and other non-traditional media.
• Providing that companies shall offer a writer with separated rights in a theatrical film or television program the first opportunity to write the interactive game based on that film or program.
• Clarifying that merchandising provisions apply to ‚Äúringtones‚Äù based on MBA covered material.

There are a lot of other issues at stake, too, but adapting business agreements to account for new media tops the WGA’s list.