tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462026865900537983.post-86876442625842357342007-11-16T21:56:00.001-08:002008-01-04T12:12:28.900-08:00<blockquote>Here's what's being done by fans for the WGA strike: "Now is the time to save ALL our shows. MAIL PENCILS pencils to the AMPTP and to any studios whose shows you enjoy...<br>Maybe we can help the studios see just how much support the WGA has. And maybe, just maybe, we can give them a graceful way out (not because they're buckling under the writers' demands, but because they care so much about their audience. Us. And isn't that supposed to be their job?"</blockquote><div align="right">-- <i>Nikki Finke, <a href="http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/pencils-down-more-pencils-in-the-mail/" target="_blank">11/12/07</a></i></div><br /><br /><b>PLEASE NOTE: As of 12/31/07, the campaign is closed.<br>Total Pencils Sold: 650,026!<br>THANK YOU, FANS!</b><br /><br /><strong>Okay, what is Pencils2MediaMoguls?</strong><br />We’re asking people to use our site to buy pencils to send to the six media moguls who run the six corporate conglomerates.<br /> <br /><strong>Why pencils?</strong><br />A lot of different fan sites were suggesting that people send pencils to networks and studios. United Hollywood and <a href="http://strikenotes.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Strike Points</a> met with some of the television showrunners, and together we decided to follow the fans’ lead.<br /> <br />Pencils have become the symbol of our cause: We are putting them down until we get a fair deal. <br /> <br /><strong>Symbolism, whatever. Let’s face it -- isn’t this kind of a waste of pencils? </strong><br />We were worried about that too, so we found a vendor who makes environmentally sensitive product: <a href="http://www.calcedar.com" target="_blank">California Republic Stationers</a>. Their pencils are made from sustainably harvested wood, which means they don’t deforest.<br /> <br />We’ll also send the media moguls suggestions about where they can donate the pencils to non-profits that teach kids how to write. After all, the CEOs aren’t writers. It’s not like they can use them.<br /> <br /><strong>What happens to the money from the pencils?</strong><br />Anything we have left over from our costs will go into the Union Solidarity Fund, which was created to help non-WGA members affected by the strike. <br /> <br /><strong>So who are these “media moguls”?</strong><br />They are the six men who run the multi-media conglomerates, the companies that control almost everything you see on tv or in the movies. These individual CEOs have the power and influence to make a fair deal and end the strike, if they choose.<br /> <br />Leslie Moonves, President, CEO<br />CBS Corporation<br />51 West 52nd Street<br />New York, NY 10019<br /><a href="http://www.cbscorporation.com" target="_blank">www.cbscorporation.com</a><br /> <br />Jeffrey Immelt, CEO<br />General Electric (NBC/Universal)<br />100 Universal City Plaza<br />Universal City, CA 91608<br /><a href="http://www.nbcuni.com" target="_blank">www.nbcuni.com</a><br /> <br />Rupert Murdoch, Chairman, CEO<br />News Corporation (Fox)<br />1211 Avenue of the Americas<br />8th floor<br />New York, NY 10036<br /><a href="http://www.newscorp.com" target="_blank">www.newscorp.com</a><br /> <br />Jeffrey L. Bewkes, President, COO<br />Time Warner Inc. (Warner Brothers)<br />1 Time Warner Center<br />New York, NY 10019<br /><a href="http://www.timewarner.com" target="_blank">www.timewarner.com</a><br /> <br />Robert Iger, President, CEO <br />Walt Disney Company<br />500 South Buena Vista Street<br />Burbank, CA 91521<br /><a href="http://corporate.disney.go.com" target="_blank">corporate.disney.go.com</a><br /> <br />Sumner Redstone, Chairman<br />Viacom<br />1515 Broadway<br />New York, NY 10036<br /><a href="http://www.viacom.com" target="_blank">www.viacom.com</a><br /> <br /><strong>Why can’t I just buy some pencils and mail them myself?</strong><br />You can! We just wanted to take our fans' great idea and make it easier. We’re taking a leaf from the <em>Jericho</em> campaign in which fans contracted with one vendor who could pool all their purchases together. That way, instead of individual bags of nuts, fans sent truckloads of nuts to CBS. <br /> <br />We’ve contracted with a single vendor to buy all the pencils for the same reason. We can deliver all of them in bulk, a truckload at a time, so the impact will be (we hope) greater.<br /> <br />You can mail pencils yourself if you want to, but joining together seems to have a better chance of getting noticed. It’s worked in the past.<br /><br />If you do decide to mail pencils yourself, just make sure they’re not sharpened. And please be polite. (We know how hard that is. Trust us.)<br /> <br /><strong>How come it’s a buck a box?</strong><br />That price covers purchase and delivery of 12 pencils. (They’ll probably be packed by pallets instead of in individual boxes.)<br /> <br />And did we mention the “sustainably forested” thing? <br /> <br /><strong>All right, responsible pencils, I get it. But in the end, what are you trying to accomplish here?</strong><br /> <br />We want the media moguls to start negotiating in good faith. We want the strike to end with a fair deal for both sides.<br /> <br />If we get a fair deal, it helps the actors, the directors, and the below-the-line crew members. Their deals are directly tied to ours. <br /><br />Click to send a message to the moguls: <strong>It’s time to make a fair deal. We’re all on the same page.</strong><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2462026865900537983-8687644262584235734?l=unitedhollywood.blogspot.com'/></div>John Aboudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06161781164107565946noreply@blogger.com192