A rose by any other name is still a rose, except when it’s an Animation Guild Story Editor. This is why TAG’s Writers’ Craft Committee (WCC) wants to change this title to Head Writer—to make sure members receive credit that’s comparable across the entertainment industry.
The term Story Editor is widely used by both TAG and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) as an onscreen credit. The problem is that what a Story Editor means for a TAG member is very different from what it means for a WGA member. “In The Animation Guild, it’s a high-level writing position,” says Madison Bateman, Chair of the WCC. It could refer to the writer who created the show, runs the room, and/or supervises others. In the WGA, it’s a lower-level writer, just above the entry-level title of Staff Writer.
The WGA represents both live-action and some animated productions, and “a lot of times the WGA is only looking for upper-level writers,” says Bateman. “If [a TAG member] submits for those, we’re told we’re not an upper-level writer because our title is Story Editor.”
“One of the challenges is that sometimes if a production company is looking for writers to fill a room, they get a massive spreadsheet of writers and their titles,” says Peter Forbes, co-lead of the WCC Head Writer subcommittee. “Say I’m looking for this level or above. If somebody is credited as a Story Editor on the spreadsheet, they can get slumped down to the bottom.” Since the person looking at the list could have hundreds of names to go through, they won’t spend time trying to figure out the meaning of a Story Editor from a TAG show versus one from a WGA show. Forbes also notes that while some people might understand the crossover title, such lists might first pass through the hands of an assistant or someone new to the industry.
Because the TAG Master Bargaining Agreement and other Collective Bargaining Agreement job classifications are not used as a person’s on-screen credit—which is what employers look at when hiring—the WCC is embarking on a social media and education campaign to change common usage from Story Editor to Head Writer, so that people in the same position receive the same credit across the board.
The main way they hope to achieve this goal is through the Personal Services Agreements commonly referred to as a “Deal” or “Contract.” These are the terms a member negotiates above and beyond the minimums set by the Guild contract for their studio. The WCC wants members and their agents, lawyers, and managers to push for the Head Writer title so that it becomes an industry standard.
They note that there are precedents for this to happen, from the TAG show Avatar: The Last Airbender, which included a Head Writer credit, to animated shows on the East Coast, where the credit Head Writer is regularly used.
Not only does this level the playing field when TAG writers are up for WGA jobs, Bateman says: “It’s about having a title that reflects an upper-level position as well as respect.”
To learn more, go to animationguild.org/craft-writers.
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