WGA Platform 2.0 Helps Entertainment Industry Writers Stay Connected
In its latest iteration, resource adds flexibility, functionality, and a new mobile interface
Los Angeles and New York – What started out as an online tool to help WGA members reach out to showrunners during the 2019 staffing season has grown into a robust digital hub for writers, showrunners, producers, and entertainment industry executives to stay connected with each other throughout the year. Today’s launch of the latest version of the WGA Platform includes a new mobile interface, upgrades to Find A Writer—the searchable writer and project database—and a new Profile Manager that enables writers to easily maintain all aspects of their personal and professional information.
“Executives, producers, and showrunners can discover new talent and ideas, or seek out a specific writer through the Platform,” states WGA West Board Member Luvh Rakhe. “With the reality of COVID-19 and the remote working environment that’s resulted, it’s an important resource for writers looking to find new opportunities. The goal of the latest upgrades is to bring the Platform to maturity while creating a more user-friendly interface.”
“This release will also be very useful to franchised agents and managers,” explains WGA West Online Services Administrator Lori Hitner. “It gives them an expanded search function that can aid in identifying new writers through a wide variety of personal and professional characteristics.”
The upgraded Find A Writer database allows writers to customize all aspects of their public and private profiles and show their full body of work, including non-signatory, unproduced, and in-development projects.
Additionally, the Platform now has a sleek, fully-functioning mobile user interface, allowing users to manage their profiles and networks from anywhere, and at any time, with ease.
The Platform features writer, producer, and executive profile pages; in-platform messaging; a television staffing submission system; and lists of spec and pilot ideas. Executives and producers can use the platform’s dynamic list tool, Grids, to keep track of the talent they are interested in working with.
Since its initial launch in April 2019, the WGA Platform has registered more than 11,800 writer profiles, 1500 hundred executive and producer accounts, and over 200 series showrunners have used the Platform's Staffing Submission System to post job openings.
For more on the WGA Platform, visit wgaplatform.org/explore
The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) are labor unions representing writers in motion pictures, television, cable, digital media, and broadcast news. The Guilds negotiate and administer contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of their members; conduct programs, seminars, and events on issues of interest to writers; and present writers’ views to various bodies of government. For more information on the Writers Guild of America, West, visit www.wga.org. For more information on the Writers Guild of America, East, visit www.wgaeast.org.