Digital Reporters Power Up

During the summer of 2018, ABC-TV member leaders across four SAG-AFTRA stations — WLS-TV Chicago, KGO-TV San Francisco, KABCTV Los Angeles and WABC-TV New York — came together to bargain a first contract with ABC to represent digital reporters. The new contract was finalized in the fall of 2018, and the first digital reporters were hired in early 2019 at KABC-TV in Los Angeles.

Other markets covered by the agreement — WLS-TV, KGO-TV and WABC-TV — soon followed, and currently, SAG-AFTRA represents digital reporters in all four markets. Their work is primarily for the ABC digital platform, as viewers increasingly seek news coverage on their tablets and mobile devices. This new contract reflects the effort of both SAG-AFTRA and ABC to represent an evolving industry.

Photo: KABC-TV digital reporters and SAG-AFTRA members Gabriela Milian, Rachel Jordan and Eric Resendiz hit the ground running in Southern California as the first ABC digital reporters hired in 2019.

This item was originally featured in the fall 2019 issue of SAG-AFTRA magazine.