BROADCAST News The Newsletter for SAG-AFTRA Broadcasters // VOL.2 // ISSUE 2 // SUMMER 2013
NEWS IN BRIEF QUALITY JOURNALISM CAMPAIGN // We’d like to know what you think about quality journalism. What trends or issues are you seeing in your news & broadcast community? Send your observations to broadcast@sagaftra.org LOCALS FORM BSCs // SAG-AFTRA Philadelphia and San Francisco broadcast members have formed local Broadcast Steering Committees. Contact the local for more information on meetings and member participation. NY MEMBERS MENTOR STUDENTS // A two-part mentor program was held for more than 50 New York students interested in careers in broadcasting. The sessions included tips of the trade, the importance of SAG-AFTRA and demo tape critiques. KRON BROADCASTERS REJECT OFFER // Newspersons at KRON4 in San Francisco voted unanimously to reject the latest contract offer by management. Primary reasons for the rejection were equitable compensation, threats to job security and health/retirement benefit concerns. BSC MEETS IN NEW YORK // The SAG-AFTRA Broadcast Steering Committee met in New York City on June 29. UNION PLUS BENEFITS // The AFL-CIO’s Union Privilege program is exclusively for union members. From mortgage programs to lowinterest credit cards to discounts on pet insurance, there’s something for everyone. Go to www.unionplus.org to save!
UNDERSTANDING YOUR PERSONAL SERVICES CONTRACT By Anee Raulerson // Assistant Executive Director, Washington-Mid Atlantic Local
“P
ersonal services contract,” “individual contract,” “key talent agreement” — these are all terms used to describe an employment agreement negotiated between an employer and an individual employee in the broadcast industry. While these agreements are commonplace in the industry, not every employee is offered a personal services contract (PSC), as they are known, and not every employee may want one. When you are presented with a PSC, it is important to understand what the terms of that PSC mean, and it is important to know that your SAG-AFTRA staff is available to assist you in explaining those terms, as well as strategizing with respect to any decisions that you must make regarding your employment. The landscape of PSCs has changed over the years. These agreements once contained terms of employment that the employee was able to negotiate above and beyond the union agreement or company policy, but over time, employers
continued to add one-sided provisions that are more advantageous for them and less so for the employee. A three-year PSC, for instance, may require that the employee stay with the employer for three years, while the employer has the option to terminate the PSC for any reason at one year, 26 weeks or even 13 weeks. In many radio PSCs, there is no guaranteed term for the employee at all. So even though you may be receiving abovescale compensation, there may be no guarantee how long you will receive it.
Many PSCs also contain onerous, restrictive covenants such as lengthy noncompetes, complete restrictions on outside employment, rights of first refusal, where the emWHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT, language ployee agrees to indemnify the employer (sometimes HOWEVER, IS THAT regardless of whether the SAG-AFTRA MEMBERS content provided was approved by your employer), KNOW THAT THEY ARE confidentiality provisions PROTECTED BY ANOTHER and overly broad content ownership provisions that CONTRACT — may even pertain to material THE COLLECTIVE outside of the scope of your
BARGAINING AGREEMENT.
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he year 2013 is one not without change, uncertainty and concerns in our ever-expanding industry: ownership changes, format changes, economic challenges, new media, safety issues and First Amendment questions.
STAFF DIRECTORY
At the Broadcast Steering Committee meeting, SAG-AFTRA members from across the country met to discuss their union’s role and responsibility in dealing with ownership changes and resulting FCC issues, your priorities for collective bargaining, your frustration with ever-increasing restrictive employment contracts and reporter shield legislation and related concerns. SAG-AFTRA is engaged on every level to address these issues and many more, and it is clear that no one employed in this industry is insulated from the change that brings both threats and opportunities.
MESSAGE FROM MARY CAVALLARO
This issue of Broadcast News contains an article on personal service contracts. Many SAGAFTRA members working in radio and TV are employed under personal service contracts. Your SAG-AFTRA staff is always available to consult From left, Chicago Broadcast Director Paula Weinbaum, with members on Chicago Local Executive Director Eric Chaudron and issues related to SAG-AFTRA broadcaster Paris Schutz of the Windy personal serCity’s WTTW attend the BSC in New York. vice contracts. Whether you are just beginning a job, concerned about an assignment, a window in your personal contract and/or have concerns related to the expiration or termination of an agreement, use your union staff as a resource to help you understand the terms and conditions of these agreements and what they mean for you, your current employment situation and future employment opportunities. — Mary Cavallaro, Assistant National Executive Director, News & Broadcast
NATIONAL & LOCAL BROADCAST NATIONAL STAFF
NEW ENGLAND
NEW YORK OFFICE
TOM HIGGINS National Director, News & Broadcast (617) 262-8001 tom.higgins@sagaftra.org
MARY CAVALLARO Assistant National Executive Director, News & Broadcast (212) 863-4219 mary.cavallaro@sagaftra.org RICH LARKIN Associate Executive Director/ Labor Counsel (212) 863-4242 richard.larkin@sagaftra.org
NATIONAL STAFF LOS ANGELES OFFICE ANNA CALDERON Los Angeles Director of Broadcast (323) 634-8117 anna.calderon@sagaftra.org
LOCAL STAFF CHICAGO, MICHIGAN & TWIN CITIES PAULA WEINBAUM Director of Broadcast (312) 573-8081 x548 paula.weinbaum@sagaftra.org
DALLAS-FORT WORTH & HOUSTON-AUSTIN T.J. JONES Texas Director of Outreach and Broadcast (214) 363-8300 x4 tj.jones@sagaftra.org
NEW ORLEANS HERTA SUAREZ Miami Local Executive Director (305) 663-7089 herta.suarez@sagaftra.org
OHIO-PITTSBURGH TIM WILLIAMS National Broadcast Representative (513) 579-8668 tim.williams@sagaftra.org
PHILADELPHIA STEPHEN LESHINSKI Local Executive Director (215) 732-0507 stephen.leshinski@sagaftra.org
PORTLAND & SEATTLE BRAD ANDERSON
Seattle Local Executive Director 206.282.2506 brad.anderson@sagaftra.org
SAN FRANCISCO LEN EGERT
Local Executive Director (415) 391-7510 x315 len.egert@sagaftra.org
MISSOURI VALLEY
WASHINGTON-MID ATLANTIC
JD MILLER Local Executive Director (314) 231-8410 john.miller@sagaftra.org
PAT O’DONNELL Local Executive Director (301) 657-2560 x861 pat.odonnell@sagaftra.org 2
MARLENE PANOYAN ©HOLLYWOOD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
MEMBER NEWS “Shotgun Tom” Kelly gets the 2,496th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Veteran NBC4 Los Angeles reporter BEVERLY WHITE was honored by the Los Angeles Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists with the Distinguished Journalist for Television honors on March 14. BSC member FRANK MOTTEK of KNX radio served as master of ceremonies for the event.
FOUR QUESTIONS WITH SHOTGUN TOM KELLY
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here’s nothing dull about “Shotgun Tom” Kelly. His animated persona and voice has been a mainstay in California since he first went on-air in San Diego in the mid-1960s. A disc jockey with KRTH (K-Earth 101) in Los Angeles since 1997, Kelly’s legacy was recently set in stone when he received the 2,496th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The son of a union railroad engineer and a SAG-AFTRA member since 1971, Kelly joins an accomplished group of radio legends honored on the famous sidewalks of Hollywood Boulevard — from early radio pioneers like Steve Allen and Jack Benny, to today’s newscasters, disc jockeys and sports announcers, including Dodgers’ Spanish-language announcer Jaime Jarrín and the “Mayor of the Sunset Strip” himself Rodney Bingenheimer. Kelly recently answered four questions with Broadcast News about his career. BROADCAST NEWS: Do you recall your first professional broadcast and how you felt when you turned on your microphone? SHOTGUN TOM KELLY: KPRI [San Diego]. It was a jazz station. We played Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett and that kind of stuff. I was 17. When I first hit that mic, I was energized and a little nervous at the time. Then I warmed up to it. I said, “This is KPRI-FM and FM Stereo and now here’s Sergio Mendez and the Brazil 66.” BN: Have there been any moments in your career where you thought, “I’m sure glad I have the union behind me.” STK: Oh many times. I do remember I was at KCBQ [in San Diego]… the owners were
trying to say it would be more beneficial to all of us if we were not union. But of course it was all smoke and mirrors and I knew that. I went around and talked to the jocks, including the weekend guys, and I told them if it weren’t for the union they would be making much less. The owners presented their side and I presented our side and said, “Hey guys you don’t want to do this. This is going to benefit them, not us.” I was a hardcore union supporter. I convinced enough people … and we won. It was exhilarating. That was a wonderful triumph for the working radio announcer. That was just a thrill in my career. BN: How have you seen radio change over the years? Do you use social media? Do you run your own board? STK: Well, we run our own board. When I got to KRTH we had a producer and board operators. But when the computer came in they decided to have the personality run the whole show. It’s very easy because everything is on the computer — the jingles, the music, commercials. It’s a one man show. I like it. I feel I’m in control. Now, when I’m on location, I have a board operator on the other end and we can still operate that way. But those are the only instances where we have board operators or a producer back at the station. But I still try to make it like you wouldn’t even know I’m not pressing the buttons. I try to make it seamless. I’m not doing too much Twitter but I am on Facebook. BN: Do you think social media is a positive way to engage your audience? STK: On Facebook they get an instant
Frontline Heroines, a series of oil portraits by Metro Networks’ JUDITH LARSEN, was featured at The Fountainhead Gallery in Seattle in February and March. The paintings pay tribute to female journalists from around the world who have lost their lives while covering the news. Among her subjects, CNN’s Marie Colvin (Syria uprising), National Geographic and UPI photographer Dickey Chapelle (Vietnam War)and Washington Globe reporter Elizabeth Neuffe (Iraq war). MIKE SHUSTER, an award-winning diplomatic correspondent and foreign correspondent for NPR News, has retired after more than 30 years and 3,000 stories filed at the public radio network. Based at NPR West, his assignments have included the fall of the Berlin Wall, the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo and the Middle East. Shuster also covered issues of nuclear non-proliferation and weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and the Pacific Rim. Veteran NPR broadcaster and Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me official judge and scorekeeper CARL KASELL was named 2013 North Carolinian of the Year by the North Carolina Press Association. Kasell, originally from Goldsboro, NC, helped found WUNC while at college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. NCPA president Hal Tanner III said of Kasell, “He is highly regarded by journalists everywhere for his integrity and commitment to fairness and honesty.” NBC Today Show correspondent BOB DOTSON has released his latest book American Story: A Lifetime Search for Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things. A New York Times Bestseller, Dotson seeks out the unsung heroes of our country – a truck driver who taught microsurgery; a man who has 465 profitable patents, second only to Thomas Edison; the doctor who developed the whooping cough vaccine and retired at 104 – and celebrates their inspirational stories.
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UNDERSTANDING YOUR PERSONAL SERVICES CONTRACT
SHOTGUN KELLY
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employment. SAG-AFTRA has worked to secure legislation in several states prohibiting an employer from enforcing noncompete provisions against broadcasters specifically, but you should check with your local SAG-AFTRA representative regarding the status of noncompete provisions in your state. What is most important, however, is that SAG-AFTRA members know that they are protected by another contract — the collective bargaining agreement. The language of the CBA must provide the right for an employer to enter into a PSC with an individual. Otherwise, PSCs are prohibited. Most SAG-AFTRA CBAs have such a provision, which requires that the terms of the PSC cannot be less than those set forth in the CBA. The SAG-AFTRA CBA may also contain specific limitations or require-
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ments of a PSC, such as a defined threshold above scale before they can enter into a PSC, prohibitions on restrictive covenants or guaranteed durations. Because of the interaction between these two contracts, it is highly recommended that members not only consult with their attorney and/or agent, but also with their SAG-AFTRA representative before executing a PSC so they are fully advised of all of the possible ramifications. SAG-AFTRA staff around the country participates in panels and conducts educational seminars on PSCs. If you are interested in hearing more about SAG-AFTRA’s work with PSCs, contact your local SAG-AFTRA office. •
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BROADCAST News is published quarterly for news and broadcast members of SAG-AFTRA. Corrections, suggestions and submissions can be sent to broadcast@sagaftra.org.
response from me. They get a big kick out of it. I get a lot feedback on that. As a matter of fact, there was a gentleman from San Diego who when he was just a kid came into the radio station. This kid came in and I showed him around the station, put him in the production room and recorded his voice. And he felt like he was on top of the world. He’s now a deputy sheriff [in West Hollywood] and he requested to be at my star ceremony and I found out about that through Facebook, where he contacted me. He said this was one of the biggest things from his childhood that he looks back fondly on now. BN: What are some moments in your career that stand out the most for you? STK: I was jock of the year by Billboard magazine. That was always richly rewarding to go back to the convention to be nominated and declared the winner. This Hollywood Walk of Fame honor is the cherry on my career. •
LIST OF CONTRACTS APPROVED FROM JANUARY TO MAY 2013
THE WEINGARTEN CARD. DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT!
(In alphabetical order):
in to explain why something went wrong, stop and think about your
KMBC-TV (Missouri Valley) Total Traffic Networks (Chicago) WAVE-TV (Ohio-Pittsburgh) WBAL-TV (Washington-Mid Atlantic) WCCO-AM (Twin Cities) WCPO-TV (Ohio-Pittsburgh) WFSB-TV (New England) WHUR-FM (Washington-Mid Atlantic) WMAR-TV (Washington-Mid Atlantic) WPHT-AM (Philadelphia) WSPZ-AM (formally, WTNT-AM, Washington-Mid Atlantic) WTEM (Washington-Mid Atlantic) WTTW-TV (Chicago) WWL-TV (New Orleans)
Weingarten Rights. By presenting this card to management, YOU have
Don’t let a meeting with management get out of hand. If you’re called
a right to stop a meeting until your steward, assistant steward or a Local rep arrives to accompany you. “If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined, terminated, or affect my personal working conditions, I request that my shop steward or union officer be present at this meeting. Until they arrive, as is my right under a U.S. Supreme Court decision called Weingarten, I choose not to answer any questions regarding this matter.” 4