Writers Guild of America, West Internship Profile

The Writers Guild of America was originally established as the Authors Guild in 1912 to protect the rights of authors of books, short stories and articles. A short time later, drama writers (for the radio medium) formed their own association, which joined forces with the authors, renaming the new entity the Authors League. In 1921, the Screenwriters Guild was born in response to the new motion picture industry, becoming a branch of the Authors League. After more branches merged and the group discovered the art of bargaining, the group renamed itself the Writers Guild of America and evolved into the formidable organization with which movie studios haggle today. In November 2007, the WGA brought the television and motion picture industry to its knees when it went on a strike regarding its minimum basic agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents many major motion picture and TV corporations. An agreement was reached in February 2008.