Hollywood Writers Authorize Strike – What Will Happen To Production?
The Writers Guild of America has voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike against film and television studios and streamers, which gives WGA negotiators license to launch a work stoppage in the coming weeks. More than 9,000 screenwriters — nearly 98% of those casting ballots — voted to authorize a strike if the WGA cannot reach a new agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and TV producers by May 1. The guild said the balloting set a WGA record for both turnout (nearly 80% of those eligible voted) and support for a possible strike. "Our membership has spoken," the WGA said in a statement. "Writers have expressed our collective strength, solidarity, and the demand for meaningful change in overwhelming numbers. Armed with this undeniable demonstration of unity and resolve, we will continue to work at the negotiating table to achieve a fair contract for all writers." The vote doesn't mean a strike will definitely happen if there's no deal by May 1; it just gives the union the power to call one.
Joining us today on AirTalk is John Horn, arts and entertainment reporter at LAist and Anousha Sakoui, entertainment industry writer for the Los Angeles Times.
Read the full LAist story here.
Another Day, Another Bank Failure. What First Republic Collapse Means For Future Banking
Regulators seized troubled First Republic Bank early Monday, making it the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history, and promptly sold all of its deposits and most of its assets to JPMorgan Chase Bank in a bid to head off further banking turmoil in the U.S.
San Francisco-based First Republic is the third midsize bank to fail in two months. The only larger bank failure was Washington Mutual, which collapsed at the height of the 2008 financial crisis and was also taken over by JPMorgan. First Republic has struggled since the March collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank and investors and depositors had grown increasingly worried it might not survive because of a high amount of uninsured deposits and exposure to low interest rate loans. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said early Monday that First Republic Bank’s 84 branches in eight states will reopen as branches of JPMorgan Chase Bank and depositors will have full access to all of their deposits. Joining host Austin Cross is Julie Hill, law professor at the University of Alabama, specializing in banking and commercial law.
With files from the Associated Press
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Celebrates Its 100th Anniversary: What’s Your Favorite Memory At The Stadium?
Today marks a historic day in American entertainment, with the historic Los Angeles Coliseum celebrating it’s official 100th anniversary of being open and serving as a reminder of all the memories that have been captured in it’s walls. It’s certainly been a sports mecca, with American football being its main calling card, having housed USC’s team since it’s doors opened up in 1923. Speaking of sports… it also gained its international recognition after being the main site for 3 Summer Olympics, with a fourth coming soon in 2028.
Today on AirTalk, we look back at the last 100 years of The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with a panel of experts: Joe Furin, general manager of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum; Chris Epting, historian and author of 40 books, including “Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum;” and Linda Dishman, president & CEO of the Los Angeles Conservancy. The stadium has allowed folks to enjoy music, sports, and other forms of community entertainment.
Majority Of Americans Think News Media Is Responsible For Dividing Nation
When it comes to the news media and the impact it’s having on democracy and political polarization in the United States, Americans are likely to say it’s doing more harm than good.
Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults say the news media is increasing political polarization in this country, and just under half say they have little to no trust in the media’s ability to report the news fairly and accurately, according to a new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. The poll, released before World Press Freedom Day on Wednesday, shows Americans have significant concerns about misinformation — and the role played by the media itself along with politicians and social media companies in spreading it — but that many are also concerned about growing threats to journalists’ safety. That breakdown in trust may prompt many Americans to reject the mainstream news media, often in favor of social media and unreliable websites that spread misleading claims and that can become partisan echo chambers, leading to further polarization. Joining to discuss is Douglas Foster,, professor of Journalism at Northwestern University and Karen North, professor of Digital Social Media at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
With files from the Associated Press
A Recent Study Pulled Back The Curtain On Melatonin Supplements – What’s A Bad Sleeper To Do?
There are a lot of reasons we might not be able to sleep: jet lag, an afternoon cup of coffee, replaying that one embarrassing moment from your day over and over in your head. For a lot of folks the go-to solution is simple–pop a melatonin and let it sweep you off into dreamland. But a recent study found that 22 out of 25 melatonin supplements contained different amounts–some more, some less–than they had on their labels. For some users, this could be a dealbreaker, spurring them to look to other solutions for troubled sleep. How is the supplements industry this unreliable? And, beyond melatonin, how can we get the beauty sleep we all deserve? Joining us are Mahtab Jafari, professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of California Irvine and author of the book, The Truth About Dietary Supplements: An Evidence-Based Guide to a Safe Medicine Cabinet and Dr. Rafael Pelayo, author of How to Sleep and a clinical professor in Stanford University’s sleep medicine division.
