Lakers writer, Los Angeles News Group

At LANG, this "premier" job probably pays $50K. Or less.

 

It's a reflection of this business today that even threads concerning quality jobs so often devolve into just this type of line, and I hate seeing it happen so quickly.

People should know, by now, that it's pointless to grouse too much about pay, or to make that be the deciding factor if there are other positives about the job that you would consider important, such as it being a step up, or a pro beat, or a major paper, etc.

The companies, not the individual reporters, are the parties in the position of strength when it comes to salary, and the going rates in this business are not good. They just are what they are. And if you are going to stay in the industry, you do your best to negotiate well, and otherwise deal with it and make things work for you.

Beyond that, this position would, in fact, be the top beat at this, the second-largest paper in an area of the country where many would like to live, and the job is associated with one of the glamor teams, in a major sport, for a large chain.

There are places in the San Fernando Valley (where the L.A. Daily News is located) and its surrounding areas where somebody -- particularly a single person -- could get by pretty well on $45-$50K a year. It's not enough pay for the work that will be involved, of course, but that's another matter. The point is, you could live on this amount in the right place.

A person also could do a lot worse than working for either Michael Anastasi or Gene Warnick, both of whom are passionate, caring and sports-supporting journalists who are well-known in the business.

If you want a major-beat job in a big market, this is about as good an opportunity as you're going to get, and if you do well with it, you could write your own ticket from there.

 

WriteThinking, I respect your opinion but disagree. I like to think this job board exists for more than just saying how wonderful positions are and how wonderful the hiring editors are (and damn does that happen a lot...brown-nosing exists even in anonymity).

Salary should absolutely be a fair topic for discussion. And if a paper touts its size, its importance, its market, etc., then pointing out the sad limitations of its salary (assuming that $$ figure is true) is absolutely fair game and reason for discussion.

No one is under any illusions that the people hiring hold all the cards. It's always been that way, but it's more pronounced now than ever. LANG could offer $25,000 for this job and still get quality applicants. That wouldn't make it right, and yes we would have every reason to "grouse" about it.

You say...
"If you want a major-beat job in a big market, this is about as good an opportunity as you're going to get, and if you do well with it, you could write your own ticket from there."

So the Lakers beat at an allegedly 450k circulation newspaper group is a stepping-stone job? Write your ticket to where? To a better metro paper that pays more? Aren't you sort of making Fran's point for him?

 

I don't know to where, or to what. That would be up to the person involved. But it means that should you no longer wish to cover the Lakers for this paper, then moving on to cover something else -- anything else, especially in sports -- will be infinitely more likely to happen than if you never had such experience on a major beat for a good-sized paper.

I made the point that the salaries in this business are bad, and usually not what they should be, especially for the work involved. That is the case with this one, too. But there's really nothing much more to discuss, at least not on a message board, and all it tends to do is end the Jobs Board discussions. If you're not happy about the salary, try to negotiate for more if you're fortunate enough to get interviewed and get to that point in a hiring process. That's really all you can do.

And I'm not brown-nosing. I've worked and/or interviewed with both editors, so I have my own impressions, and I know others who have worked with them more than I have and who also have strong, well-formed opinions of them and think well of them.

Also, I'm not in the business right now, anyway -- just sharing, partly from first-hand experience, what I know of the area, the people, the papers and the situation there. There are places you can live in nearby areas on that salary, so if you want a job like the one described in the ad, I'd recommend this position.

 

I agree, this job is fantastic and I wish I had more basketball experience.

 

Gene is great.

 

Congratulations to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times. Mark joins us on Oct. 18.

Thanks to all who took their valuable time to express interest.

 

How much do you think he will be making? How much did he make at the Los Angeles Times? How much will The Times pay his successor?