That whole "based on experience" could go so many ways it's not even funny... I suppose perhaps they're looking for those "experienced" in being on the other side of the camera's lens...

Posted by: Tom | Jun 15, 2004 2:26:58 PM

Not only that ... that "help wanted" ad breaks several federal and national law regarding employment advertising.

Posted by: roxanne | Jun 15, 2004 4:15:49 PM

To elaborate on my comment above, you can only talk about gender, race, religion, etc. if it's bona fide job qualification, which is almost NEVER.

The gray area comes when you are hiring actors, models, etc. (which the above ad may do, but who knows based on the ad copy?)

What you should do should you ever get a Help Wanted advertiser here on your blog is look at the position being advertised and make sure they're not mentioning any requirement that doing the job doesn't actually require. Look also for "hidden" or "implied" statements of discrimination (i.e. "woman owned company" or "located next to the synagogue").

Your state press association should have a booklet or guidelines published somewhere that spells out the law more completely than I could here. .

The reason why this is important for publishers of blogs or print is that your state/federal EEO agencies can fine you if there's a consumer complaint.

While you're at it, also look at state and federal housing regulations if you are going to accept real estate/ housing advertising. Be warned that those regs can get pretty wacky, but you need to comply to avoid penalties and lawsuits.

Posted by: roxanne | Jun 15, 2004 5:54:14 PM