Reporters as supervisors?

[Red5]

I came across this in a job posting:

Must possess skills and experience necessary to make independent editorial decisions in the field and to supervise photographers and technical staff assigned to work with him/her in the field.

Does this wording surprise anyone?

[Consider This]

No. It's away to make the reporter a salaried position without overtime.

[Another side]

No. That's often how it works,anyway.

[Produce man]

Originally posted by Consider This:
No. It's away to make the reporter a salaried position without overtime.Interesting. Every reporter I've ever worked with was salaried. I didn't know there were any hourly ones.

[photog78]

Interesting. Most reporters I've worked with were hourly.

[Ralphie the buffalo]

Originally posted by Another side:
No. That's often how it works,anyway.You haven't worked with me. It is a team effort and more and more I have to be the lead dancer.

[Another side]

Originally posted by Ralphie the buffalo:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Another side:
No. That's often how it works,anyway.You haven't worked with me. It is a team effort and more and more I have to be the lead dancer.</font>[/QUOTE]Sure ... it happens that way, too.

[McCovey Cove Returns]

Originally posted by Consider This:
No. It's away to make the reporter a salaried position without overtime.Guess they don't have a union at that shop!

You're right, slapping a supervisor tag on someone is the prelude to a contract. I've only seen one station where reporters were hourly and not under contract. The station was a big shot #1 in the market and figured people would leave when they were good and ready. A bit arrogant too.

[MichaelPS]

Standard intro, I'm not a lawyer. That said...

It takes more than calling someone a supervisor for the court to consider you management and thus ineligible for overtime. The line is usually whether you have hiring and firing authority. If you can't do either, that's a major red flag to an arbitrator that you're not in management. Other factors particular to our industry:

- Are the people you are supervising working with your equipment?
- Do you determine when they can start or stop a work shift?
- Are they required to follow your orders as to how the details of the assignment proceed (shot placement, choice of shots, the nature of the piece, etc), whatever those orders are.

Long story short, reporters ain't managers.

[ISTHISTHINGON?]

Originally posted by photog78:
Interesting. Most reporters I've worked with were hourly.Same here. Anchors=salary. Reporter=clock.

[east coast producer]

Present shop, everyone's hourly except producers and bona fide managers. We get screwed. Not even comp days (unless we work on a holiday).

At my former shop, producers were salary until US DOL changed their rules for what qualified as an exempt employee, then we all got switched to hourly. It was heaven. I don't remember what reporters were.

At my first station, I was an assignment editor then a producer. I was salaried. I don't know how anyone else was paid, except shooters who were hourly.

[JoinUsForCake]

Originally posted by photog78:
Interesting. Most reporters I've worked with were hourly.Interesting. Our shop is about half & half with the hourly and salaried reporters. Different news directors, different deals.

[news rookie]

for us - the cub's - one man band reporters, are hourly and the senior reporters, who always get a photog are salary.

yet the seniors complain about not getting overtime, only a little math in the calculator would show no matter how much OT the cub's get, it still doesnt usually compare.

[Pinkie]

What I dislike most about the job posting is listing a reporter as a "supervisor." Unless you're legitimately management, telling one employee he or she is others' supervisor is just asking for trouble.

[Produce man]

A question for those on hourly...

Do you use a timeclock or write it down somewhere.

Also, if you are hourly, and are called at home to meet your shooter at "the scene", how does that work, have someone clock in for you?