The WGAw is a union made up of writers who create narratives that use moving images. The Guild was initially formed by and for screenwriters of motion pictures. However, when television became a viable medium, the Guild opened its doors to writers in this “upstart” new field. Following in this tradition, in the mid 1990s, when it became clear that various forms of new media were also capable of supporting narrative works, the Guild expanded its coverage to include writers in this rapidly expanding arena.

What is New Media?

“New media” is a term generally used to refer to media that reaches its audience via digital technology and media -- microprocessors, game consoles, wireless signals, the Web, DVDs, and so on. Older media, on the other hand, uses analog technology, which includes film, video, LPs, and audiotape.

Unlike analog technology, the digital technology employed in new media can support interactivity -- a form of back-and-forth communication between the audience and the narrative material. This is one of the greatest differences between old and new media. Most works of new media, though not all of them are interactive. Interactivity, of course, can profoundly impact the narrative experience, involving the audience in the story in ways that are not possible in traditional media.

The Scope of New Media

The best-known and most commercially successful form of new media is the video game, which now rivals feature films as a form of popular entertainment. But new media also includes material developed for the Internet, for interactive television, for wireless devices (such as cell phones and PDAs), for theme park rides, and for virtual reality installations, just to name a few of its many areas. As new forms of digital media become viable, creators of new media content find ways to put them to work for narrative experiences. The field is constantly expanding.

The Guild does not limit its coverage to any particular type of new media. Any form of media that supports narrative and moving images is eligible for coverage. In addition, the Guild may cover new media works such as trivia games, which do not contain a narrative thread.

What is Narrative? 

A narrative is a story that depicts characters in a series of dramatic events and that follows the action from the inception of the drama to its conclusion. This definition applies equally well to traditional media and to new media. However, when a work of new media is interactive, the scenes do not usually occur in a fixed, linear order.

What about Works of Non-Fiction?

It is important to note that narratives -- both in traditional media and in new media -- can be works of non-fiction as well as fiction. Just as the WGAw covers writers of documentary material, it also covers new media works that are non-fiction. Furthermore, many new media projects are used for pragmatic purposes -- for education, for training, for promotion, for informing, and for advertising. Such projects are often designed to be highly entertaining, and they comprise a significant segment of works in the new media arena.