NAB reports (Jan-Dec 1948)

F, : B » O A D C ASTE R S WASHINGTON 6, D. C. New York 17, N. Y. Phone DEcatur 9300 MUrroy Hill 1-1963 1771 N St., N. W. 535 Fifth Ave. Toft Building, Hollywood 28, Col. GRonite 7166 CHARLES A. BATSON, Editor Citing the constitution of the American Federation of Radio Artists, which refers to announcers as pro¬ fessionals, Mr. Doherty said: “By any analysis of the compai-able fields of creative work, the conclusion is inescapable that the radio an¬ nouncer is a performing artist in his own right, and is entitled to recognition by the Division of his pro¬ fessional stature.” JUSTIN MILLER, President A. D. WILLARD, JR., Executive Vice-President C. E, ARNEY, JR., Secretary-Treasurer DOROTHY LEWIS Coordinator of Listener Activity (New York City) FRANK E. PELLEGRIN Director of Broadcast Adver¬ tising DON E. PETTY General Counsel ROBERT K. RICHARDS Director of Public Relations ARTHUR C. STRINGER Director of FM Department trinsically, broadcasting combines the professional showmanship of the theatre with the educational methods of the classroom and public forum.” Mr. Doherty’s statement suggested three possible solutions to problems of radio broadcasting, which “demands and requires the services of diverse pro¬ fessional, administrative and executive personnel.” First recommendation was a revision of the Fair Labor Standards Act to base overtime pay only on regular hourly rates of pay for standard work weeks as defined in union contracts or agreed to between employers and employees, to exempt bonus and profitsharing payments from calculation of average hourly earnings, to prohibit pyramiding of overtime payments, to clarify exemption classifications, and to establish a special advisory industry committee for broadcasting. Second recommendation was for administrative cor¬ rections. Third was a suggestion that realistic inter¬ pretation of existing regulations and classifications could afford relief to the broadcasters. Supporting the third recommendation, Mr. Doherty outlined at length the qualifications required of staff announcers in network and station operations, as well as news directors, farm directors, and the like, not now classified as professional, executive or administra¬ tive in smaller stations. Not a Mere Voice. The explanation of announcers’ duties and requirements of education and experience pointed out that “the present-day announcer is far more than a mere voice coming out of a loud-speaker.” It proceeded to enumerate duties of many an¬ nouncers, such as writing, editing, production and direction, emergency ad-libbing, interviewing, special events broadcasting, and others. “Announcers, therefore, must be individual profes¬ sional artists,” Mr. Doherty said, “and the results of their efforts — their time spent before the microphone — • cannot be measured in terms of so many units pro¬ duced, as is so true of the work performed by ma¬ chinists, mechanics, bookkeepers and the like.” Mr. Lindsay’s statement at the hearing outlined WSOY’s method of careful screening of applicants for announcer’s jobs, and the professional work expected of staff members. “We feel,” he said, “that appearances before the microphone require professional training; they require adequate background before the start of that profes¬ sional training; or perhaps extra professional training to compensate for the lack of background; and they require the development and maintenance of an air of professionalism. We maintain a staff of office work¬ ers to perform routine tasks that require manual dexterity.” Taft-Hartley Terms Narrow. Mr. Peterson, speaking as attorney for the NAB, opposed adoption of the Taft-Hartley Act’s definition of the term “professional” for purposes of the Wage and Hour Act, on the ground that it is narrower than the present regulation of the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division. The attorney pointed out that the Taft-Hartley definition “was designed for the purpose of according separate bargaining status to groups of professionals theretofore sometimes included in overall bargaining units of rank and file factory workers.” He said that the adoption of this terminology by the Wage and Hour Administrator might place in a non-exempt category many actors, artists, musicians, and others “whose status as professionals under the present definition and rulings has never been ques¬ tioned.” “This follows,” he said, “from the fact that the Taft-Hartley definition relies largely on educational training and omits the alternative test of work pre¬ dominately ‘original and creative in character in a recognized field of artistic endeavor.’ ” In extemporaneous statements, Mr. Mason and Mr. Pengra described the duties of news editors, home economists, and farm editors, and emphasized the many professional duties they perform. Both witnesses underlined the extensive technical knowledge and versatility required for broadcasting. Among the examples was that of the farm editor who must be familiar with diverse subjects ranging from soil conservation to canning. Mr. Brown traced the professional histories of sev¬ eral top-flight network announcers, to show that they performed the same duties, on a different scale, early in their careers when they were employed by smaller stations. His testimony emphasized that the principal differ¬ ence between such top-flight announcei's, now recog¬ nized as professionals, and those in small stations, is one of degree and not of substance. KENNETH H. BAKER Director of Research ROBERT C. COLESON Assistant to the President (Hollywood) RICHARD P. DOHERTY Director of Employee-Employer Relations HAROLD FAIR Director of Program Depart¬ ment ROYAL V. HOWARD Director of Engineering JANUARY 12, 1948-18