broadcast news
the Newsletter for sag-aftra broadcasters // vol.2 // issue 1 // WINTER 2013
news in brief
KPCC Goes Union //
Staff at Los Angeles public radio
station KPCC have voted to be
represented by SAG-AFTRA. The new
unit covers 65 reporters, producers,
show hosts and news anchors.
N.Y. Podcast Online //
The New York Local is recording audio
interviews with local broadcasters.
In the first interview, longtime New
York radio personalities Jim Kerr and
Elvis Duran have a conversation about
their careers, the importance of union
membership and the radio profession.
To listen, go to www.sagaftra.org/
locals/new-york/local-news
Chicago Focuses on Social
Media // The Chicago Local
presented a workshop for broadcast
members, showing them how to
maximize the potential of social media
while protecting their online identities,
brands and intellectual property.
The two sessions were held on
Jan. 24, 2013.
New Contract for WGN //
SAG-AFTRA Chicago Local members
have negotiated a new contract with
WGN-TV, making significant gains
while coming up with common-sense
fences around the concept of reporters
operating cameras. The contract
includes increases to wages and health
and retirement contributions.
No Contract/No Work //
A Do Not Work order has been ordered
against audiobook publisher Bee Audio
of Ashland, Ore. No member may
accept work as an audiobook narrator
for Bee Audio until a fair contract is
negotiated for members.
BSC Meeting Set //
The Broadcast Steering Committee will
meet on March 2 in Philadelphia.
Covering Tragedies:
PTSD and Journalists
T
he headline looked
but think I had gone soft; there was
familiar: “Residents,
something wrong with me. It was
Members of Media want
only later, when I got a Dart Ochberg
Journalists to Leave
Fellowship, that I learned through the
Newtown.” A friend sent me The
Dart Center what trauma can do to
Huffington Post article via email.
journalists.
Same old story: Journalists flock
to the scene of these tragedies to
A friend says these stories we cover
become the eyes and ears of society.
are like the drip, drip, drip of water
torture. Eventually, they get to you. I
It doesn’t take long for society to call
made a documentary film about this
them the vultures of the press. They
By Mike Walter
experience. It’s called Breaking News,
complain about the questions: “How
Breaking Down. When it was finished, the editor
do you feel?” “How much have you cried?”
wondered if anyone would see it. They have, and
they’ve spoken up after screenings!
No one ever asks the journalists.
The answers would be one-word responses:
“Lousy” and “Plenty.” Journalists observe, but
they also absorb. There is a limit to how much
they can take. Take it from an expert. Years ago,
on a sunny Tuesday morning, I slurped down my
coffee, kissed my wife goodbye and set off for
work. I never expected the morning would include
a massacre; I never expected to witness the mass
murder of 184 people. I was stuck in traffic on 9/11
when I watched American Airlines Flight 77 dive
from the air and pierce the side of the Pentagon.
My journalistic instincts kicked into gear, but
something else was at work that day. I found
myself breaking down. In the days that followed,
I was haunted by nightmares. I was in a fog; a deep
depression. I got counseling, but I couldn’t help
PTSD Resources
AFTRA H&R provides several mental
health benefits. Information can be
found at www.aftrahr.org as well as
through Achieve Solutions,
https://www.achievesolutions.net/
achievesolutions/en/aftra/Home.do.
Employer Health Plans:
Members who participate in a health
We’ve heard from journalists around the world.
I’ll never forget the field producer in Australia
who wept as she talked about clutching her
sound man as he took his last breath in Beirut.
It was the first time she had spoken about that
tragic day. There was the young journalist who
covered the Virginia Tech massacre who cried
as she recounted the scenes forever seared in her
memory, and the print reporter who covered
Columbine who hid behind a satellite truck,
just so he could have a good cry. There are
many more, too many to mention.
I feel like the film has given all of them permission to do something they never do; it’s given
them permission to tell their own stories. As I
plan provided by the employer should
check with their human resources
office or the benefits book for
coverage information and resources.
The Dart Center for
Journalism & Trauma is a
project of the Columbia University
Graduate School of Journalism.
The center provides the necessary
resources to journalists who cover
COntinues on PAGE 3 >>>
violence, conflict and tragedy.
Visit dartcenter.org
The International Center for
Journalists has a free 28-page
PDF brochure featuring case studies,
tips and other information on trauma
and stress. To download, go to
http://www.icfj.org/resources/
journalism-and-trauma.
Sandy Dangers
message from catherine brown
M
ultitasking is a way of life. I still remember hearing the term
for the first time while being trained to use a newsroom
computer system during the third or fourth upgrade. New and
veteran broadcast professionals are caught up in a workday
whirlwind of fact-gathering, writing, shooting and editing (scripts,
pictures and video), keeping an eye on social media platforms,
news delivery (on-air, online and other platforms like taxis and
gas stations) and a barrage of other work demands. If you haven’t
already done so, add your union to your long to-do list.
SAG-AFTRA elected leaders and staff need details about our work
life, our working conditions and our questions about professional development. Together, we are developing our approach and response
to today’s duties and assignments, and getting out ahead of those that
we know are coming. Our results in these efforts depend on each
of us being committed to the outcome. Broadcast professionals are
valued and respected members of SAG-AFTRA throughout our locals and among our elected leadership. Thank you for the opportunity to serve and collaborate with you to improve our union.
— Catherine Brown, National Vice President, Broadcasters
message from joe krebs
I
’d like to wish everyone a
happy new year. I hope
it’s going to be happy. I
know it’s going to be busy
and important for all
broadcast members of the
new SAG-AFTRA.
Since March 31, we have been
in the “initial period” of the
life of this new union. We
have been operating under an
initial governance structure
as we make the transition
from two unions to one.
This time of change has had all the fits and
starts and aches and pains that you might
imagine when you try to wrestle two different
cultures into one unified whole.
In August and September of 2013, we will elect
our first national leaders to take us forward —
new national officers, a new National Board
and delegates to our first national convention.
It is critically important for broadcast members
in all locals to get personally involved in this
process.
Run for office, run for a delegate spot, support
someone who shares your views, or just pay
close attention and speak up and speak out on
what you consider to be important issues.
2
Broadcast delegates to the national
convention in September will,
for the first time, elect a national
broadcast vice president. This
constitutionally mandated elected
position will be the voice of broadcast concerns at the very highest levels of the union. We need
a large contingent of broadcast
delegates to assure that the diverse
interests of broadcast members all
across the country are represented.
Brian Thompson // N.J. Correspondent, WNBC-TV
W
e were about four hours from high tide,
still daylight, and as the winds and spray
were whipping around us, my photographer said
to me, “Brian, I think we need to get out of here.”
We were trapped next to the boardwalk. I was
unwilling to risk a power line or building debris
falling on our vehicles if we tried to escape
this boardwalk location, nor did I have a clue
where we could go with the bridge closed
(eventually, even the police department
would be underwater, as would our hotel).
message from
mary cavallaro
T
he news events of the last few
months have had SAG-AFTRA
members and their colleagues
working very long stretches, often
in dangerous conditions and/or
covering very difficult stories.
SAG-AFTRA members are working
to cover these stories in newsrooms
and in the field, and are engaging
audiences in thoughtful discussion
on radio and television programs
across the country.
But before that happens, the Broadcast Steering
Committee will meet in early March. Please,
think about issues that we should consider discussing and let me or other committee members
know, so that we can get those on the agenda.
Recently, journalists nationwide
have experienced an increasing
number of incidents of physical
attacks, theft and other threats while
working their stories — a sobering
reminder of the risks they assume
when pursuing a story. Last month,
after several SAG-AFTRA members working in the Bay Area were
subjected to theft and assault, our
San Francisco-Northern California
Local staff and member leaders
responded immediately, working
with our employers to ensure the
safety of news crews in the area.
Safety for our members is one of
SAG-AFTRA’s top priorities, and it
is a critical part of our continuing
mission.
One of the issues we may well discuss is a
large and ever-growing threat to us and the
union movement. As you know, Michigan just
became the 24th state in the union to pass a
so-called “right-to-work” law. These laws allow
people who elect not to pay their fair share —
We must continue to work to
address the issues that our members
face in their daily work lives through
day-to-day administration of our
agreements and at the bargaining
table. Our contracts must evolve
In addition, at the convention,
broadcast delegates will also vote
— and can also be candidates — for the position of national executive vice president and,
depending on the member’s local, the vice presidents from the largest local, the second-largest
local, the mid-sized locals and the small locals.
continues on PAGE 3 >>>
continues on PAGE 3 >>>
And ever since the night Sandy roared across
the Jersey Shore on Oct. 29, I have been asking
myself, why were we even there?
I’m not sure you will find a good answer in this
article, but I will give you an account of my
thinking before and after.
For starters, I was going to go to Point Pleasant
Beach a few miles north, where we would have
had the lee of a solid concrete building on that
town’s boardwalk. We got bigfooted by network
and Weather Channel trucks — I was told to go
somewhere else.
But why go anywhere along a shoreline about to
be battered by a “postcyclonic storm”?
For starters, I had survived the eye of Hugo in
Charleston back in 1989. I knew how survivable a
hurricane can be, though it was a close-run thing
even back then. Secondly, due to a lack of
knowledge (you can say ignorance), a prediction
of a record six-foot storm surge across Sandy
Hook farther north really meant nothing to me.
covering tragedies,
from page 1
watch the coverage from Newtown, I’m like
everyone else. I worry about the families, the
police and emergency crews, the coroner — in
fact, the entire town. But I also worry about my
brethren, the journalists, the people reading this
piece. The viewers will always see the “breaking
news,” but the “breaking down” part will go on in
the shadows, hidden from view. I hope these
journalists know when they do leave Newtown,
they are not alone. There are people willing to
listen who can help, and there are resources,
including the Dart Center.
Please don’t suffer in silence.
Mike Walter can be reached at [email protected]
We all know our job is to go where the action
(read: risk) is. But while I may individually
accept a risk that I cannot properly measure, I
will never forget that I put the lives of my crew at
risk as well. And therein lies the predicament. It
was my decision on where to go, but I had their
lives in my hands.
What will I do when the next storm comes
through? In part, I will be guided by new
guidelines our station is developing; in part, by
the tolerance of my photographers for risk; and
in part, by a better understanding of what
different types of storms can do.
And then I will cross my fingers and hope I
guessed correctly.
cavallaro,
from page 2
to address the changes in our industry
and, specifically, our members’ concerns
on issues related to workload, safety, the
around-the-clock demand for content on
new media platforms and the impact that
has on our members.
Our changing industry demands that we
think proactively and focus on what truly
matters in the work lives of SAG-AFTRA
members employed across the country.
For questions, contact the Broadcast
Department at (800) 638-6796 and
[email protected]
— Mary Cavallaro,
Assistant National Executive Director,
News & Broadcast
KREBS,
from page 2
their initiation fees and dues — to get all the
benefits that we work for and pay for.
They get the benefits of collective bargaining with
none of the cost, and we — including our staff —
have to represent them and defend them when
they get in trouble. They contribute nothing.
These laws attack the very viability of our
efforts to engage in meaningful collective
bargaining. We, as members of SAG-AFTRA,
need to decide how to respond. And, so, we
need to talk — and to listen — to each other.
— Joe Krebs, Chair,
Broadcast Steering Committee
member News
Wayne State University hosted a starstudded memorial on Dec. 6 for famed
Detroit weatherman Sonny Eliot, who
died Nov. 16 at age 91. A broadcaster for
more than 60 years, Eliot was a pioneer
who brought his own distinct and endearing
brand of humor and style to the airwaves.
“Sonny was a marvel to me,” WWJ
anchor and
SAG-AFTRA
Michigan
Co-President
Jayne Bower
said. “He
worked for
more than
60 years for
the same
radio station.
Sonny’s professional longevity was no
accident. He was immensely talented at his
craft and was endlessly kind to the people
who were fortunate enough to work with
him and call him a friend.”
Lu Ann Cahn, Angelo Cataldi, Stan
Hochman, Sylvia Kauders, Jay
Lloyd, Robin Mackintosh, Liz Matt
and Beasley Reece were inducted into
the Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneers Hall
of Fame.
SAG-AFTRA Local Board member and
WTOP’s Capitol Hill reporter Dave
McConnell was featured on the cover of
the Washington Post’s Oct. 29 style section.
Reporter Tony Glaros shadowed McConnell on
a typical day, covering all the happenings of
Congress. McConnell has been the Capitol Hill
reporter for WTOP since 1981, and has been
with the station since 1965.
Bryan Johnson has retired from
KOMO-TV in Seattle as a senior
correspondent. Johnson began his career
in 1955 as a radio engineer for KAPA in
Raymond, Wash. He joined KOMO News on
Oct. 10, 1959. From 1962 to 1981, Johnson
served as news director for KOMO Radio,
rejoining KOMO News in 1976.
SAG-AFTRA member Arch Campbell of
WJLA played host to the annual TIVA-DC
Peer Awards, held Nov. 17 at the National
Press Club. The Peer Awards, which began
in 1997, is co-sponsored by the SAG-AFTRA
Washington-Mid Atlantic Local in order
to recognize D.C.-area members for their
outstanding work in media production.
3
NON PROFIT ORG
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
broadcast news
SAG-AFTRA
5757 Wilshire blvd. 7th floor
los angeles, ca 90036
p // 800.638.6796
F // 212.532.2242 / 323.634.8194
e // [email protected]
inside
COVERING TRAGEDY //
Mike Walter examines the effects
emotionally charged stories have on the
journalists who cover them.
F ollow Us
facebook.com/sagaftra
twitter.com/sagaftra
broadcast news is published quarterly for news and broadcast members of SAG-AFTRA.
Corrections, suggestions and submissions can be sent to [email protected].
list of contracts approved FrOM October 2012-January 2013
• KOMO-TV (Seattle)
• KPFK-FM (Los Angeles)
• Bell Media Radio/Detroit
• KPRS/KPRT AM-FM
AM-FM (Detroit/Windsor,
(Kansas City)
Ontario, Canada)
• KTVU-TV (San Francisco)
• CBS Sports Radio Network
• KYW-AM (Philadelphia)
AM/FM (New York)
• Total Traffic Networks
• Democracy Now! (National)
(Boston, Los Angeles, New York,
• Denver Adventures in Odyssey
Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San
Radio Series (Denver)
Diego, San Francisco, Seattle,
• Family Theater Prods. (Los Angeles) Washington-Mid Atlantic)
(In alphabetical order):
• WBBM-AM (Chicago)
• WCPT-AM (Chicago)
• WEEK/WHOI (Peoria)
• WGME-TV (Boston)
• WGN-TV (Chicago)
• WHLI-AM/WKJY-FM
(New York)
• WHTZ-FM (New York)
• WOWT (Missouri Valley)
• WTIC-AM/FM (Boston)
• WTNH-TV (Boston)
The Weingarten Card. Don’t Leave Home Without It!
Don’t let a meeting with management get out of hand.
If you’re called in to explain why something went wrong,
stop and think about your Weingarten Rights. By presenting
this card to management, YOU may have the right to stop
a meeting until your steward, assistant steward or a
local rep arrives to accompany you.
4
“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.”