November 16, 2007
Dear Member;
With uncertainties resulting from the Writers Guild of America strike, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA)'s Family Friendly Programming Forum has decided to postpone its Symposium that was scheduled to take place at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles on November 27, 2007. The event will be rescheduled for 2009.
I prepared the following statement which will be shared publicly concerning the group's decision:
"Although our members are not directly involved in the strike, its unresolved issues impact the day's agenda for our Symposium. We have been monitoring the situation closely since the strike began and we are hoping for its swift conclusion. With its continuance and no projection for resolution in the short term, we made the decision to postpone our event until 2008."
Further, the ANA's point of view on the Writers Guild strike is "while we are not contractually involved in the Writers Guild contract, we encourage both sides to continue negotiations and reach a fair settlement as soon as possible."
The cancellation of the Symposium is not an indication of support for either side. The decision was made solely on an evaluation determining that the ANA would not be able to achieve the desired objectives of the Symposium given the current circumstances.
The postponement will not impact the tape date for the FFPF Family Television Awards on November 28, which will proceed as planned along with other FFPF scheduled activities for that day at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.
Ongoing, the strike will not impact the work of the FFPF. The Forum will continue to work towards the development of family friendly content on television and across multiple distribution platforms.
Further discussion and plans to reschedule the Symposium will be discussed at the FFPF meeting taking place at the Beverly Hilton at 12 pm PST.