Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, copy editor

And yet, a lot of people would kill to get a foot in the door at the metro. They won't be making $25K forever.

 

To back up shot's point, while I understand all the warnings, that is all they should be -- warnings. So if this seems like a worthwhile job for somebody here, they have an idea about the history and they are properly prepared.

But this is still a metro. There are some good people there. Despite the issues some might have with the place, it could be a very good fit for some people.

 

Agreed. There's so much misinformation out there. I'm not sure where the $25K figure came from, but a friend got hired on the desk there a few years back for $35K. The Trib will never pay like top-end major metros, but Pittsburgh is an affordable city, so a salary in the mid-30s can go pretty far.

Sure, the Trib has its problems, but what paper doesn't?

 

What is the misinformation that's out there? Correct us.

 

35K for a desk position at the Trib?

What is that for -- the total of a five year contract?

If this job pays one dollar more than 22K, consider yourself lucky.

I interviewed for two jobs there and both were at 21K and that wasn't that long ago.

It is a sweat shop and a horrible newspaper.

But I agree, hey, you might get some clips from it.

Here is the question I always ask -- how many people from the sports section of this rag have gone on to bigger things at bigger papers?

And if you get 25K, it might be your salary for life so be careful.

 

Don't hold back there, Zag.

Thing is, I believe you and BlueJacket. The salary structur is low overall, but kind of all over the place. They pay some people. Just not most.

 

The Trib is a "major metro" because of its location at that is all.

It is run like a high school rag and, no, I cannot think of one sports writer who left there for a bigger paper.

 

Is there anyone who can give us the other side of the coin, maybe some positives about this place?

 

PDT, everyone I've dealt with there, being from another part of the state, has been great to work with.

 

Zag - Were the jobs you interviewed for on the Trib desk, or were they writing jobs for the Connellsville Daily-Courier? I know the salary structure is pretty odd because of all the smaller papers the Trib owns, but they will pay talented copy editors with some experience.

As for positives, Jerry DiPaola, the former Steelers beat writer and now the high school editor, is well-respected. And some of their writers, such as Kevin Gorman and Joe Starkey, are certainly talented enough to move to bigger papers if they wanted to.

 

I dealt with the Trib once and they were nothing but professional.

 

Exactly. Gorman is a guy who simply wants to stay in Pittsburgh. Not sure about Starkey's reasons, but he was very good on the Penguins beat before moving to columnist.

Joe Bendel is a talented guy who left, but it was for a radio job.