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Writers Guild of America East announced Thursday that Lisa Takeuchi Cullen has officially been elected as its new president after running unopposed to succeed outgoing president Michael Winship.

Takeuchi Cullen is now the third woman and the first person of color to be elected president of WGA East. Secretary-treasurer Christopher Kyle will continue in the same position after also running unopposed.

“I am honored to become the next president of the Writers Guild of America East. Even when we negotiate a fair deal with the Hollywood studios — and it is a when, not an if — I know the fight is not over,” Takeuchi Cullen said in a statement. “The fight continues for all of our members, TV and screenwriters as well as journalists and podcasters, to achieve compensation commensurate to the value of our important work. The fight continues for all workers to earn a life of dignity. The fight...

The Writers Guild of America East (Wgae) members have elected Lisa Takeuchi Cullen as its new president. Cullen, who was an unopposed candidate for the posititon, takes over for outgoing president Michael Winship, who announced his decision to not seek reelection of his longtime post over the summer.

“I am honored to become the next President of the Writers Guild of America East,” Takeuchi Cullen said in a statement. “Even when we negotiate a fair deal with the Hollywood studios — and it is a when, not an if — I know the fight is not over. The fight continues for all of our members, TV and screenwriters as well as journalists and podcasters, to achieve compensation commensurate to the value of our important work. The fight continues for all workers to earn a life of dignity. The fight continues for all labor to put human rights over corporate profits. As the...

Hollywood studios and streaming services released details of an offer they’d made to the Writers Guild of America that included updated terms on AI, data transparency and minimum staffing, according to a Tuesday press release. But upon further review of Hollywood’s counteroffer, members of the WGA don’t plan on leaving the picket lines anytime soon.

“Our priority is to end the strike so that valued members of the creative community can return to what they do best and to end the hardships that so many people and...

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The members of the Writers Guild of America East have appointed three vice presidents to oversee the union’s key work sectors and elected four new members to their council, realizing recent changes to the Guild’s constitution.

During the Guild’s 2022 council election, Sara David was elected vice president of the online media constituency and Kathy McGee was elected vice president of the broadcast, cable and streaming news sector (both are already council members), the WGA East announced Thursday. Incumbent WGA East vice president Lisa Takeuchi Cullen will now act as the delegate for the film, television and streaming sector.

Also elected to council seats were incumbents Monica Lee Bellais, Kaitlin Fontana, Gina Gionfriddo, Tian Jun Gu, A.M. Homes and Erica Saleh, who will act on behalf of the Guild’s film, television and streaming sector. New members Susan Rinkunas and Jessica Schulberg...

Sara David, running unopposed, has been elected vice president of the WGA East representing online media members, and Kathy McGee beat two other candidates to become vice president representing members working in the broadcast/cable/streaming news sector.

David, a digital editor at Paramount+/Viacom CBS for unscripted series, currently serves on the WGA East Council, the guild’s governing body. McGee, a news writer at Wcbs New York City, has served on the guild’s Council and on its Committee for Inclusion and Equity.

This is the guild’s first election since its members voted overwhelmingly in June to amend the Wgae constitution and restructure the guild to ensure a more “balanced representation” among its three work sectors: film/television/streaming, broadcast/cable/streaming news, and online media. Election of the guild’s president, secretary-treasurer and vice president representing the film/TV/streaming sector will be held next year.

The WGA East is holding its first election since its members voted overwhelmingly in June to restructure the guild to ensure a more “balanced representation” among its three work sectors: film/television/streaming, broadcast/cable/streaming news, and online media.

In the vice presidential elections, Sara David, running unopposed, will be elected vice president representing online media members, while Matt Nelko, Philip Pilato and Kathy McGee are vying for the vice presidency representing broadcast/cable/streaming news.

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The only other contested race involves seven candidates running for six seats on the Council representing the film/TV/streaming work sector: Gene Koprowski and incumbents Erica Saleh, A.M. Homes, Monica Lee Bellais,...

The WGA East has unveiled the candidates for its upcoming election of 20 council seats, which will mark the guild’s first vote since it was restructured around three distinct work sectors.

The Sept. 15 election will divide governance of the guild among 12 members from the Film/TV/Streaming sector representing writers of narrative scripted movies and TV series; five from the Online Media sector covering digital news and media writers; and three from the Broadcast/Cable/Streaming sector covering broadcast and cable news programming.

The governing body for the Writers Guild of America East also includes five officer positions: president, secretary-treasurer and three vice presidents, representing one from each work sector. Online and mail-in voting begins Sept. 1 and ends Sept. 15 at 5 p.m. Et.

The election follows the compromise agreement reached in April to address the WGA East’s rapid growth in recent years through its success in organizing digital media and digital news operations.

The Writers Guild Initiative, a non-profit organization affiliated with the Writers Guild of America East, has unveiled a new Support Staff Training Program for aspiring TV writers that is set to launch next month.

The Wgi’s charter is to support people from marginalized communities who are looking to go into screenwriting. The Support Staff Program, funded by a grant from NBCUniversal, provides individuals with two career tracks on the support-staff level: writers assistant and script coordinator. Those accepted for the program will go through a bootcamp where they will be trained on industry-standard programs such as Final Draft and virtual writers room simulations.

The program was created and devised by Ian Olympio, a WGA East member who works on the Starz drama “P-Valley.” According to the guild, Olympio was inspired to create the program after facing difficulty hiring support staff for Season 2 of the series, as many of the...

Michael Winship, running unopposed, has been elected president of the WGA East, the guild said Tuesday, but his running mates for seats on the guild’s council took a drubbing. Seven candidates on the opposition’s Solidarity slate were elected to the council, compared to only four on Winship’s Inclusion & Experience slate.

Winship, an award-winning news and documentary writer, led the guild during the tumultuous 2007-08 writers strike, serving as president for five consecutive two-year terms – starting just before the strike and ending in 2017. His running mates this time were Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, who was elected vice president, and Chris Kyle, who was elected secretary-treasurer. They too ran unopposed.

Their slate, however, came out on the losing end of what amounted to a referendum on the future of the guild. They supported a pause in the guild’s five-year-long campaign to organize digital newsrooms, arguing that so many digital...

Digital writers made big gains in the WGA East’s contentious election for officers and council members that govern the union that represents TV and film writers west of the Mississippi.

The election results unveiled Tuesday confirmed that the guild’s governance will be split among scribes in opposing camps. The union has faced division over WGA East’s aggressive campaign to organize the many digital news outlets on the East Coast and numerous large unscripted production companies.

Some WGA East members fear the influx of digital writers, who typically have far lower income than TV showrunners and screenwriters, as the nature of the work and compensation formulas is very different. There’s concern among many longstanding WGA members about the potential that the new members will tax the pension and health plan benefits available to all union members.

The election drew a strong turnout of about 30% of eligible voters,...

After a month-long debate over the future of digital media organizing in Writers Guild of America East, the guild’s council elections saw seven of the 11 open seats being won by the pro-organizing Solidarity Slate, though the top officers will come from the opposing Inclusion and Experience Slate after running unopposed.

In this year’s elections, six freelance seats and three staff seats were up for grabs on the council, as well as two seats vacated by incoming guild president Michael Winship and incoming vice president Lisa Takeuchi Cullen. All three staff seats, which are allocated to news writers, were won by Solidarity Slate along with four of the six open freelance seats, which are allocated to film and television writers. Council members are elected to terms lasting two years.

Winship and Cullen’s seats will be taken for one year by Inclusion and Experience candidates David Simon, creator of “The Wire,...

After a heated contest that raised questions about the future of digital journalists in the union, the Writers Guild of America East has unveiled the results of its latest Council elections.

Filling six open freelance seats are Josh Gondelman, Sasha Stewart, Liz Hynes, Lauren Ashley Smith, Benjamin Rosenblum, Tracey Scott Wilson, David Simon and Tian Jun Gu and filling three open freelance seats are Kim Kelly, Sara David and Hamilton Nolan, the union revealed Tuesday. Former WGA East president between 2007 and 2017 and current Council member Michael Winship was elected president, Council member Lisa Takeuchi Cullen was elected vice president and ...

After a heated contest that raised questions about the future of digital journalists in the union, the Writers Guild of America East has unveiled the results of its latest Council elections.

Filling six open freelance seats are Josh Gondelman, Sasha Stewart, Liz Hynes, Lauren Ashley Smith, Benjamin Rosenblum, Tracey Scott Wilson, David Simon and Tian Jun Gu and filling three open freelance seats are Kim Kelly, Sara David and Hamilton Nolan, the union revealed Tuesday. Former WGA East president between 2007 and 2017 and current Council member Michael Winship was elected president, Council member Lisa Takeuchi Cullen was elected vice president and ...

Former WGA East president Michael Winship, running unopposed, will be the guild’s next president, succeeding Beau Willimon, who’s not seeking re-election after four years in office. House of Cards creator Willimon led the guild through the WGA’s historic legal battle that reshaped the talent agency business.

Winship, an award-winning news and documentary writer, led the guild during the tumultuous 2007-08 writers strike, serving as president for five consecutive two-year terms – starting just before the strike and ending in 2017. He returned to guild politics in 2018, winning a seat on its Council. He won an Emmy and three WGA Awards writing for three different Bill Moyers shows, as well as the WGA East’s Richard B. Jablow Award for service to the guild.

Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, who has served on the Council since 2016 — and was last year’s recipient of the Richard B. Jablow Award — will be the guild’s next vice president.