Pay at a small town daily

What does it say about this business when a thread degenerates into a discussion as to whether $11/hour or $40/story is acceptable pay? WTF? It's not acceptable in eastern Tennessee, and it's not acceptable in the Northwest or the South or anywhere else, not if you see yourself as a professional. I understand a lot of people have to accept it, but it's not right. Newspapers are in business to make money, but so are the employees. $440 a week before taxes is poverty living.

 

Look up supply and demand again. When there is a huge demand but small supply you aren't going to have much say so especially when this is part-time and thus likely his first real gig.

For the record, I work at a 5-6k daily and make in the middle between $11-13 and hour. My co-workers make slightly more because I'm the new guy.

As for freelancing. I freelanced with the Times-Picayune in New Orleans before getting full-time gig. Was told it was going to be $45 a game for just a small brief. Did my example story of a exhibition game at local high school and got bumped up to doing full stories at $85.

 

I work at a 6K six-day-a-week newspaper, and we pay 25 per stringer story. Sad thing is there are papers in my area of Ohio who pay 20, including some double our size.

The wages or stringing pay folks are expected to work for, especially at smaller papers, is ridiculous. I want to go back to school to do something else, but the question is what in this economy? I'd like to be a teacher, which doesn't pay great either but is at least somewhat of a living wage, and the gutting has started in our state with the schools.

 

I work at an 18K daily and we pay $25 per story for stringers.

 

Thanks for the economics lesson on why reporters are paid jack squat.

 

Is it? That's exactly what I was making at my last paper, and I always had more money than bills.

 

That sounds like pretty unusual circumstances. Did you live with your parents? No college debt?

 

A single person in a small town shouldn't have that much problem paying the bills on that much money. You won't have a lot of extras, but you should be able to pay your bills.

 

Yeah? How so?

 

It's acceptable as all get-out when you have no other options. I was out of work for 11 months, and $40 a game stories helped make the rent payments. I got lucky, and now I am running a weekly. It's also acceptable if you are new and have no other way to get clips. (Not my case)

 

At $23,000 a year, your monthly take home pay should be about $1,600 a month.

$300/month for a small apartment
$200/month for utilities
$150/month for a car and insurance
$50/month for a cell phone
$400/month for groceries

You've still got $500 to spare for emergencies, saving, student loans, etc.

Start adding a family and kids into the equation, and it gets out of control in a hurry. And it's certainly not the life a college-educated person should be excited about. But the bills can be paid.

 

My last gig I was at a three-times weekly in an oil town, and was paid salary, my salary was based on a 40/hr work week at $12 an hour. I of course never worked anywhere near 40 hours a week, in my time there I don't think I ever worked less than a 50 hour week. This is what I was earning after 3 1/2 years there as sports editor and six years in the business. As comparison my sister who happened to work at a Wendy's in the same town as just a regular employee was making $12.50/hour. We didn't have freelancers because we couldn't pay them.

I basically woke up in debt. Didn't live an extravagant lifestyle at all. Only went out when my buddies were buying.

I had prepared myself for five years of poverty after school, I hit six and just about dropped out of the industry altogether. Then the place where I work now -- a unionized mid-size daily -- had an opening and while the pay is great (as much as the big dailies in the large cities nearby -- I have no life. Haven't had a weekend off without taking holidays in four years, looking at another three before that becomes a possibility.

Our industry is a complete joke when it comes to treatment of its trained, professional employees.