Evening star., 1940-07-30
Professional Status
For Newsmen0 Opposed
By Guild Official
Declares Proposed New
Definitions Would
Get Around Wage Act

Get Around Wage Act
Asserting that newspaper writer's
and advertising workers are skilled
craftsmen, rather than members Of
a profession, Victor Pasche Of New
York, secretary-treasurer of the
American Newspaper Guild, strongly
opposed new definitions for ex-
ecutives and administrators in the
newspaper industry at a wage-hour
hearing yesterday.
The apparent purpose" OF the
new definitions proposed by the
American Publishers Association "is
simply to make it possible to have
an employe with the title OF execu-
tive employed at full time in rou-
tine work of a non-exempt nature"
he charged.
"The American Newspaper Guild
is here to oppose any and all of the
new definitions which have been
offered, as all are directed in greater
or less degree to the same purpose,
an increase in exemptions from the
act, without any sound or even sub
stantial evidence that the existing
definitions are faulty in any way.
THE proposed changes are not
Qualifications. They are intended to
defeat the very purpose for which
the wage and hour law was enacted,
or at the very least to whittle down
its coverage.
Entitled to Protection.
ut is not detracting in any way
from our legitimate pride in the
craft of news writing and news
gathering, or the technique of ad-
vertising solicitation, to recognize
frankly that neither one has a pro-
fessional status, and that it is a
skilled craft, entitled to the same
kind Of protection as any other
craft"
At a hearing Friday three deans
of schools of journalism strongly
urged the classification OF news
writer's, copy readers, and others
engaged in the preparation and
handling Of news as professionals.
The three deans were Carl w. Ack-
erman, Columbia University; Frank
Martin. University of Missouri, and
Kenneth E. Olson, Northwestern
University.
In his statement. Mr.. Pasche took
sharp issue with the position taken
by the three deans, who appeared
as spokesmen for the American AS
sociation of Schools and Depart
ments of Journalism.
Three deans of journalism have
gone to great lengths to show the
professional status of editorial
workers." he said. These presenta-
tions all boil down to the fact that
the three deans would very much
like to have journalism accorded
professional status, and to have it
made rule that newcomer seek
ing to enter the field of journalism
must have degree from the 80 So
called class A schools of journalism
to qualify for employment. Ample
evidence is available of the fact
that newspaper success is not hinged
to any specialized school training.
Certainly no one would argue that
men with school OF journalism train
ing represented the major portion
Of the newspaper field, helpful as
the training given by some schools
of journalism may be-"
Printers Oppose New Exemptions.
Through John r. Evans the Co.
lumbia typographical Union regis
tered its opposition to any defini-
tions that would increase the ex-
emptions among newspaper typo
graphic employees to the hours and
overtime provisions of the Wage
and Hour Act.
Proposals for exemptions of key
employees submitted earlier by the
Motion Picture Producers and Dis
tributors of America were opposed
by George E. Bodle of Los Angeles,
who appeared as representative OF
Hollywood unions with a member
ship of nearly 5000 Adoption of
the proposed changes, Mr.. Bodle
declared, would increase unemploy-
ment among workers in the motion
picture industry. The purpose of
the wage and hour law. he said,
was to spread employment. Many
motion picture workers, he said,
are now unemployed.
Through Joseph A. Padway OF
Washington the International Ali-
ance of Theatrical and Stage EN-
ployes also registered its opposition
to the changes suggested by the
motion picture producers.
William NJ Smith, representing
the Screen Directors Guild, urged
that second assistant directors be
kept in the nom exempt class. I'm
der the proposal of the producers,
second assistant directors, as key
men, would be classified as exempt