AFTRA Calls for Limits on Big Media

Four Pittsburgh AFTRAns and one from Philadelphia trekked to Harrisburg on Feb. 23 to testify at a special public hearing called by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The agency is again considering loosening its restrictions on media ownership and TV-Newspaper cross ownership.

“We went to tell the FCC how ownership consolidation of media has hurt jobs and communities,” said Local Board member and past president Alan Boal. “I was a victim of the first round of consolidation in 1996.”

	Alan Boal Testifies Before the FCC. Click photo for larger image.

Boal worked at WTAE Radio prior to its acquisition by CAP Cities Communications, who later spun off the FM and AM to new owners Clear Channel and Disney.

“Our public officials should intervene when companies merge and jobs are lost,” testified Board member David Flick, “especially because we, the public, own the air waves. Big media practically gets free access.”

Chris Lacey, Pittsburgh Freelance Staff, related that “The fate of the fourth estate is at stake.” He recounted that AFTRA news reporters and anchors decried the ever-increasing “dumbing down” of news that results from media consolidation, with pressure to re-cycle and re-use material, rather than look for new and relevant stories to report. “Fewer competitive sources result in an erosion of the free flow of information.”

The Harrisburg hearing continued the efforts of AFTRA members and others to document to the FCC that the consolidation of media ownership by giant corporations eliminates diverse and local sources of news, music and entertainment programming. Previous FCC public hearings were conducted in Los Angeles and Nashville.

Want to learn more? Go to www.aftra.org Click on the “Legislative Center” button and then “Media Consolidation.” Read why live and local media is threatened.

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Buy Union.
View / Listen Union.

A few years ago, while speaking at the Labor Day parade downtown, I was surprised by the reaction I received when I told the crowd that only two of the television news stations in town have on-air union shops.  (And by the way, if you haven’t joined us in the Labor Day parade, you should consider it.  We have lots of fun!)

	Paul Martino. Pittsburgh Local President. Click photo for larger image.

It made me think – if the folks who come out to support labor don’t know which stations are union, maybe a lot of other people don’t know either. I’ll provide a list of the Local’s on-air shops.   But before I do, maybe we should talk about the merits of a union station versus a non-union station.   I’ve written about it before, but it doesn’t hurt to bring it up again.

Broadcasting is a crazy, fickle business. It’s show business. While one station manager may look at a talent as superb and irreplaceable, the next manager who comes along may view that very same talent as lousy!   I’ve seen it happen.   I’ve lived it.

Because it’s talent, and management has a right to pick talent, AFTRA can’t prevent a station from firing one of our members. But we can damn sure provide protections like severance pay, notice, accrued vacation days, and extended AFTRA benefits-- just a few of the things our members can count on when they’re shown the door. If you work at one of the non-union stations, forget about it!  You’re out the door in an instant-- no severance, no notice, and no goodbyes.  

The union shops also have to practice the concept of “just cause” . They can’t simply say you’re a bad person, an incompetent employee, and thus escape their obligation for notice and severance pay. Under the just cause standard, the stations must prove their case, with substantial evidence, before a neutral judge.

One former television newsperson was fired recently because he was accused of a crime — accused but never charged. Eventually police and the District Attorney said there was insufficient evidence and the case was thrown out.  But in the meantime, the station fired this person, claiming just cause. AFTRA did battle for this member.  We took it to arbitration, which is the process spelled out in a union contract. Long story short, the arbitrator ruled the station had no just cause to deny contract termination benefits.   AFTRA recovered a substantial amount of severance for this individual who is now successful in a related field. This would have never happened in a non-union shop.   The accused at a non-union shop is guilty and gone.

It goes without saying that the pay and benefits are better in the union shops than in the non-union shops.    One glaring example is WTAE-TV.  When it was a union shop, starting pay for reporters was about $50,000 a year, along with all the protections of a union contract.   Now new reporters there are starting at about $38,000 a year.  And if they get fired, forget about severance.

I could go on and on about this topic.  Having a union contract is a significant weapon against sometimes nasty, unfair and inhumane station management.    (Not all station management, just some.   I’ve worked for many fine and decent managers during my career.)

Okay, below are the stations who that work under an AFTRA Pittsburgh contract.

In Pittsburgh, if it is not listed here, it is not an AFTRA shop.

• KDKA-TV
• WPXI-TV; PCNC-TV
• WTOV-TV (Steubenville)
• WTRV-TV (Wheeling)
• WICU-TV (Erie)
• Sheridan Broadcasting Network
• WAMO-FM and WAMO-AM
• WDVE-FM
• WEAE-AM (ESPN)
• WBGG-AM (Fox Sports)
• KDKA-AM
• WDSY-FM
• WRKZ-FM
• WZPT-FM
• KQV-AM
• WWSW-FM

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Internet, HD Radio, Voice Tracking,
Streaming, Podcasting.

Problem: One Abuse Scenario

The management at station AFTRA asks its well known mid day air talent to stream her show. This will widen her audience by the thousands because Miss Lulu will now be on around town, the country and the world. Her fan base grows. She gets phone calls, e-mails and letters from everywhere her voice is heard. She’s good. But there is no extra pay for streaming her show.

She has to answer her own mail and questions about the show. The sales department asks Miss Lulu for air checks to be sent to advertising clients. Eventually Miss Lulu is doing a pod cast which features certain highlights from her daily show. Soon she is told to create voice drops to promote both features. The world is aware of Miss Lulu but sadly she isn’t making another dime. Soon her show is moved to the HD channel and sponsored by a whole new set of clients with more revenue for the station. Overworked, Miss Lulu dies. Her funeral is broadcast live with several lucrative sponsors underwriting the entire funeral. Station AFTRA remains number one long after the passing of Miss Lulu as her shows are run on the HD channel in Pod casts and in perpetuity.

One Solution:

Give AFTRA members the opportunity to file a record of “digital work” in a Digital Work Order. The DWO would document time, effort, frequency, and extra pay, if any. This could assist anyone who feels their time is being abused.

Perhaps “scale” fees can be set to give talent an idea of where to begin in asking to be paid for digital work. Perhaps a rate of one half of one percent of the total they make in a year at the station. Maybe more, but certainly a number is needed as a reference point.

Stations don’t want everyone to do the new media jobs. They usually go after their highest profile people. Perhaps then a Personal Services Contract could be offered--or a side letter added-- that would cover the new work being done. Here’s where AFTRA can step in on an advisory basis to help set rates.

In the past, AFTRA has negotiated minimum scale for contracts and then personal contracts were worked out accordingly. For new media work, perhaps now AFTRA will have to forgo a national grid system for pay and recognize work on a station- by- station or case–by-case basis.

By filling out and supplying a DWO, our members and AFTRA could keep track of what new media work is being done by whom and for how much. This can supplement the regular AFTRA station contract.

In the future, all PSC agreements should have specific language about the new media. Broadcasters-- like actors-- should treat all digital media as just another form of broadcasting. All of it must be taken into account at the time of the signing. Any new developments in media during the course of the PSC should be addressed via side letters-- not simply done and dealt with later.

I hope these proposals can help us get a handle on what’s going on in the media. We need to avoid the abuse scenario and stop the slow erosion of a medium and the talent who make it work.

Internet. While most stations have web pages as part of the station’s presentation, few consider payment is necessary for talent images, voices or creative input. The Internet is also the distribution point for Streaming of broadcasts and Pod Casting.

Streaming is just a digital copy of the station’s air sound reproduced on the net for usage around the world. The audience can be greatly expanded as a radio is no longer needed and one can listen anywhere. Stations use streaming in their added value sales presentations.

Voice tracking is the use of station voices to fill time slots on the main station or other stations be they HD, a pod cast or another AM or FM station in or outside of the market. Voice tracked programs sound live, but they are not.

HD Radio is short for High Definition radio and is another source for the main station. It is programmed and formatted though usually in a more progressive way than the main station. It uses personalities, imaging and production people usually from the same AFTRA on-air unit at the main station.

Pod casting is an extra curricular activity for the stations where a personality does a separate in- depth interview and music show and makes it available as a download from the station’s web site.

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The Squeaky Wheel Gets Greased

Part of my job is helping our members negotiate the relatively complex procedures for eligibility, payment, and claims with the AFTRA Health and Retirement Plan. Each local has a designated ombudsperson. So, when Y108 disk jockey Mike Bush, wife Cory, and son Duran came to my office several months ago with a problem, I was ready to roll. But it didn’t take long for me to toss in the towel. I really couldn’t help. The problem was above my pay grade. Here’s the Bushes’ story.

Taking a hot beverage from the microwave, 7-yr-old Duran burned his hand and needed help quick. Dad Mike hauled Duran to their pediatrician, who took one look and said, “Go right now to Children’s Hospital Emergency Room.” They did. The nurse at Children’s looked at the wound, and then referred Duran to the West Penn Hospital Burn Center. At West Penn the next day, Duran was admitted and received surgery. With careful follow-up care, his hand is now good as new.

The problem? It was the bills--lots of unanticipated co-payments—about $1,000. Mike and Cory were baffled. They had been careful to use the higher-reimbursed network providers. They knew their pediatrician, Children’s Hospital and the West Penn Burn Center participated in AFTRA’s network. Why all the uncovered charges?

What the Bushes didn’t know was that some doctors who work in network facilities are not network doctors. The ER doctor at Children’s and the anesthesiologist at West Penn –providers the Bushes couldn’t really choose—didn’t accept the network discounts. This bloated the Bushes co-pays in three ways. First, the docs billed 30 percent more than the discounted rate. Second, AFTRA H&R reimbursed only 60%, not 90%, of the discounted rate. Third, the Bushes had to pay a separate $400 out-of-network deductible.

Mike and Cory were frustrated and more than a little miffed. They didn’t have to tell me that the family budgets of mid-market radio talent have little margin to deal with medical bill shock. “It’s really not fair,” said Cory. “We did our best to use the network, but we really had no choice in the matter.”

I had to admit they were right, but I tried to put the problem in perspective. I knew about the nationwide trend of various specialists dropping out of many of the large networks—not just AFTRA’s. The specialists managed to wrestle some control from the large health plans that employed them. The plans apparently need them enough to let them balance bill their patients. It’s just another drip in the money drain we call our health care system.

The good thing is that this sad story has a happy ending. Mike and Cory and I talked about how the AFTRA Plan isn’t run for profit and that union leaders have an equal voice with employers in decision-making about Plan policies. I encouraged them to write to the AFTRA Plan trustees-- to tell their story and urge a change in policy. They did.

Turns out Mike and Cory weren’t the only members responsible enough to turn their anger into constructive concern. The union trustees of the AFTRA H&R Plan tackled the issue and made a policy change effective January 1, 2007. Henceforward, participants like the Bushes who find themselves balanced billed by out-of-network ER doctors and anesthesiologists in network hospitals for necessary care will be reimbursed 80% and will have the charges applied to the network deductible. That’s a good thing.

The health care delivery and payment system in our country remains a big cancer that can only be corrected by major surgery. But, as Mike and Cory Bush can testify, AFTRA participants in the Plan know their voices will be heard.

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How Flexible Are You?

Here’s a time honored mantra for those of you who make your living as an artist, (or would like to do so): Versatility is the key to employment.

Let’s think about the options that are open to you by looking at the tools you should have to advantage them.

Headshot? Of course you have a headshot. But is it current? Every time you update your headshot, you’ll have a new look for producers to consider. Yes, a fresh headshot costs most professionals about $250-$300, but not Pittsburgh AFTRAns. The Conservatory Committee is planning another headshot session this year with Becky Thurner Photography. Ask any member who took advantage of this conservatory offering last year if the results were worth it.

Have you asked your agent about commercial print work? We’re not talking about high fashion work here, let alone being on the catwalk. Actors make the best models for commercial print work . Ask Becky or any other photographer. Rates start at around $125/hr with a two hour minimum.

Audio-Demo? Of course you have an audio-demo. You have one that shows your dynamic range for radio commercials & voiceovers for TV spots. What about a technical read for industrial narration? Do you have any good character voices in your repertoire? (Jeff Bergman will be offering classes/workshops through the Conservatory this year.) I’d like to distribute a CD with something from all our members who have foreign language skills. Habla espanol? Por supuesto.

Video-Demo? Of course you have a video-demo. You asked all the producers you’ve worked with for a copy of the finished product. Plus, you know with today’s home computers it’s just an exercise in ‘click & drag’ to make your own video demo complete with all kinds of cool effects. Don’t forget to include clips from that low budget (deferred compensation) piece you did for that up & coming college student director.

Resume? Of course you have a resume. You use your inkjet printer to print it on the back of your headshot now that they are on heavy paper lithographs that you can buy by the thousand for the cost of one hundred photographic-type copies. Do you tailor your resume to each gig? You should have a template for each kind of job you’re going after: TV, Non-Broadcast, Voice-Over, as well as Print, Stage, Trade Shows, Club Dates Festivals, etc. Then tweak it to the job, producer, company…whatever.

Costuming? Of course you know all the clothes in your closet that are camera friendly. And, yes, one of the questions you always ask your agent is, “What kind of wardrobe does the breakdown call for on this gig?”

Agent? Of course you’ve talked with both of the franchised agents in the area. But you also realize that agents in this (and just about every other market outside of NY, LA & Chicago) are more of a clearinghouse for the larger producers and ad agencies than personal advocates for individual talents. That means you have to market yourself diligently to help your agent help you.

I mentioned a question that you should ask every time your agent (or anyone for that matter) calls you for a gig. That’s next.

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A Letter to My Fellow Members

Call me a cock-eyed optimist, but I really thought there would be a crowd as I entered the Arden Theatre in Philly to hear AFTRA award-winning voiceover artist and former SAG National Board member Sheldon Smith give a lecture entitled “How to Turn a Non-Union Offer Into a Union Job”.

Philadelphia is right next to New York. The event was open to any SAG, AFTRA or EQUITY actor on the planet! There would have to be tons of actors there, right? Nope.

All told there were no more than twenty-five people. Half were SAG or AFTRA staff and/or lawyers. One was Sheldon.

That leaves twelve actors and me-- the only one from Pittsburgh! So I listened and I took notes. Now here is where I must mention that Sheldon specifically asked that “his work” not be freely distributed. Taken out of context, his methodology can backfire on you.

So in short, “I have a secret, I have a secret!”

What I can say is that I came away from the meeting with a fresh perspective and a few new ideas. I was also reminded of a few things I already knew, like how important it is to reinvest in myself as a performer once in a while. Or how if I don’t ask questions I won’t get answers. So here are my questions…

1) With such a great opportunity just hours away and the common perception that there is never enough union work here, why was I the only actor from Pittsburgh there that night?

2) Will we continue to complain about a lack of union jobs in our area? (Read:Jobs that pay a living wage with the benefits of residuals, union backing, etc.)

3) If Sheldon would come to Pittsburgh, could we have a decent turnout? In other words, are you ready to do something to jump-start a better, more lucrative, future for YOU? On another note, but speaking of great opportunity: Labor Day ’07 is going to be fantastic. Mark your calendars and keep your ears wide. You won’t want to miss it!

In Solidarity, Dave Flick

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Wheeling’s WTRF-TV joins Pittsburgh Local Welcome to the anchors, reporters, and producers from Channel 7 in Wheeling, who by mutual agreement are transferring to Pittsburgh from the Tri-State Local. After a long contract struggle with their owner, West Virginia Media, members recently approved a new three-year agreement. Special recognition is due to Jerry Echemann and Scott Nolte, who led the bargaining team. Due to unfair charges filed by AFTRA with the NLRB, the Station has granted vacation originally denied a member. Also, the Station must post notices that they will not coerce or intimidate union members.

New pact approved in Erie AFTRA members at WICU-TV in Erie last month ratified a new three-year agreement featuring 3% yearly increases for most covered staff artists and an extra vacation day after 12 years service. A signing bonus was paid in lieu of retroactivity, and important rights and protections for members were preserved while the parties modernized much of the old language in the agreement. Kudos to Mark Soliday, morning anchor and Steward extraordinaire, for keeping the AFTRA ship afloat.

New deals to be inked at WAMO and SBN Dec. 1, 2006, will be the effective date of new agreements covering WAMO-FM and AM and the Sheridan Broadcasting Network, respectively. Happily, the pacts will permit AFTRA H&R premiums to be paid through payroll deduction using pre-tax dollars, thus saving members up to 25%. Also, minimum scale will increase 3% per year. AFTRA Stewards Lakiesha Brown (Kee Kee), Laurence Gaines, and Brian Cook served on the union bargaining teams.

Terminated radio reporter will have a fair hearing AFTRA has appealed to arbitration the denial of notice and severance pay to a staff announcer terminated last year, and the hearing is scheduled for early April. AFTRA National General Council Tom Carpenter will represent the union.

Broadcast Steering Committee meets in Washington Y-108’s Stoney Richards represented Pittsburgh AFTRA broadcast members last month at this national get-together. For a report on the meeting contact the Local office.

Edwards appointed Interim AFTRA President Congratulations to Bob Edwards, formerly of NPR’s Morning Edition, and now on XM Satellite Radio’s Bob Edwards Show. Bob will assume AFTRA’s gavel following the resignation this month of John Connolly who has accepted an offer to head Actor’s Equity Association as its new executive director.

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AFTRA's Endorsement Making a Difference

Thanks to AFTRA Pittsburgh's full endorsement of the Pittsburgh Film and Media Alliance's campaign for change in the mission and governance of the Pittsburgh Film Office, we now rest on the brink of that very change becoming manifest.

After gaining the attention of city, county, and state government officials, we were invited to participate in an industry work group led by representatives from Chief Executive Onorato's and Mayor Ravenstahl's administration. Those participating from the industry included myself, Chris Lacey, Charlie Humphrey of Pittsburgh Filmmakers, Diana Stoughton of IATSE, Stephanie Dangel from Steeltown Entertainment, and Russ Streiner from the PFO.

We all agreed upon numerous attributes that would significantly improve the PFO's impact upon our regional film/media industry. The talks broke down around the concept of welcoming industry stake holders onto the board of the PFO. Chief Executive Onorato and Mayor Ravenstahl have now taken the matter fully into their hands and will be making recommendations to the PFO regarding board composition.

The PFMA feels it is necessary to have labor and stakeholders represented on the PFO Board, along with city, county and state appointed government officials. This model of board composition is in place at well-heeled film offices throughout the nation and we are confident that our film office will open their governance doors to the very industry they have been charged to serve.

Thanks to the courageous support of AFTRA-Pittsburgh, IATSE, the Teamsters, other industry professionals and organizations, and our many government allies, the Pittsburgh Film and Media Alliance continues to work on your behalf to ensure a brighter, bolder future for our industry!

Adrienne Wehr is Chair/Spokesperson of the Pittsburgh Film and Media Alliance and an AFTRA Pittsburgh Board Member.

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