GRACIE AWARDS WINNERS
Cheri Preston & Christine Nagy In 2022, SAG-AFTRA National and New York Local Board member and Broadcast Steering Committee Co-Chair Cheri Preston and former National and Local Board member Christine Nagy received Gracie Awards for their union-covered work. Preston, who works at ABC News Radio, was named Outstanding News Anchor in the Radio - Nationally Syndicated Commercial category. Nagy received her honor in the CoHost (Music/DJ/Personality) Large/ Major Radio - Local category for her work as co-host of Cubby and Christine in the Morning on iHeart Media’s WLTW. Bestowed by the Alliance for Women in Media, the Gracie Awards recognize exemplary programming created by women, for women and about women in all facets of media and entertainment. They also acknowledge the individuals who have made inspirational
contributions to the industry. Named after the late Gracie Allen, the awards acknowledge outstanding team leadership and individual achievement and focus on women who are making positive change and furthering the discussion of what a fulfilling career in media looks like. “Congratulations to Cheri and Christine for their powerful and inspiring contributions,” said New York Local President Ezra Knight. “Their leadership in the newsroom, the studio and our very own SAG-AFTRA New York Local boardroom has helped better the lives and careers of broadcasters across all media.” Honorees were recognized at the Gracies Gala, held on May 24, 2022, at the Beverly Wilshire in Los Angeles, and at the Gracies Luncheon on June 22 at Cipriani in New York City. l
Preston Nagy
Knowing when you’re On the Clock or Off the Clock Do you know about the “Report-to Zone”? As an actor, you may have heard that the zone is 30 miles, but that rule applies specifically to principal performers only. For background performers, the Report-to Zone is an eight-mile area that radiates from Columbus Circle and affects the rules on transportation, payments and late-night safety. If production is located within the eightmile zone, a performer is responsible for providing their own transportation to and from the location. The performer is officially “on the clock” when they arrive at the location at their call time. It does not matter if your commute to the location is five minutes or three hours: If the location is within the zone, you are not compensated for travel time. However, if a production’s location is outside the zone, the producer must provide transportation to and from location
and pay the background performer for transport time. In those scenarios, the performer is on the clock when they arrive at the pickup location, which is designated by the producer and may be anywhere in Manhattan between South Ferry and
125th Street. Again, performers will not be compensated for the time it takes them to commute to the pickup location. Once filming has wrapped for the day, CLOCK CONTINUES ON PAGE 10 >>
COMMERCIALS BACKGROUND ZONE FOR BACKGROUND PERFORMERS working under the Commercials Contract, officially referred to as extras, the rules are somewhat different. The zone is still eight miles, but extras who report to work within the zone receive an $8 stipend to cover their transportation costs. The stipend also applies when an extra reports to a pickup spot that will transport them to a shooting location outside the zone. The pickup area in Manhattan is smaller, with its borders represented by 23rd and 59th streets, and 1st and 11th avenues. As with TV/Theatrical, performers are on the clock when they report to the pickup location at the designated time. Any performers who opt not to report to the pickup location and report to the call location on set will have a different work time than the performers who reported to the pickup location. Rules also differ regarding late-night drop-off. When production wraps after 10 p.m. — not 9:30 p.m. — the producer must provide transportation to one of the same three safety spots. However, an extra may request drop off at the safety spot that is most convenient for them. So, if three passengers are in the van and each wants to be dropped off at a different safety spot, the production is obligated to stop at all three. For additional questions, please contact the Commercials Department.
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