I knew salaries were low, but THIS low?

[Galaxian]

I was recently offered a job in a medium-sized market. The station is a great place, and is the top one in the market. And yet, the salary they offered me sounds like a second-place offer. Let's put it this way, it was actually LESS than what I make at a small-market station, for the SAME job.

In polite terms, I told the news director that salary wasn't going to cut it, and I'm awaiting a response to see if a higher number is offered. Hell, I'll see if my current boss will make a counter offer. What do I have to lose?

Anyway, I'm plain shocked to hear of such a low salary, in such a large market. Yes, I know journalists make jack sh*t, but Jesus H. Christ, it's not like this is an entry level job! No wonder I hear so many people on Medialine either flee to public relations, or try to. Maybe I'll join you!

[adam & doctor drew]

The station is a great place, and is the top one in the market.

those are typically the worst places to try and get paid.
usually #1 stations are run by managers who think THEY are the reason for the station's ratings... and therefore they're doing YOU a favor by allowing you to work there.

not saying they're right.
just that's how they think.

[The Mockingbird]

If you start in at the ground floor in PR, your salary isn't going to be much better. The people who make the successful transitions usually use their on-air experience to get a PIO job.

There are other routes than PR, and they are more lucrative.

[hoosiergirl]

I'd love to hear what is considered 'low' these days.

First job 13,100. (100 put you out of the running for food stamps)

Second job 18,500.

I'm several jobs past this, but I'm curious where entry level salaries are these days. My guess is that they haven't budged much.

[TAFKA wacowx]

...I'm several jobs past this, but I'm curious where entry level salaries are these days. My guess is that they haven't budged much.

I would guess starting around 18K is pretty standard today and a second job at around 25K. Of course, this all depends on what you do.

COMPLETELY agree about the number one station salary ideas. Very rarely will they pay top of the market...they don't have to. It's the stations that are fighting for higher ratings that find it necessary to pay a higher salary to perhaps get slightly better people.

And as many times as it is said, it bears repeating:

Market size means nothing!

Salary varies widely from one place to another, one station in a market to another in the same market. You might get a much better offer from another station in that same market...maybe not. It might be a low-paying market overall. As you can see, there is no reason to assume a higher market will pay better than where you are. Sure, you can assume that a top ten will pay better than where you are, but you can't even bet on that. The only rule I have noticed that seems to be universal is that hyphenated markets pay less than single-city ones.

[Sigonfile]

You could make more than 18,500 working as a part time manager at McDonalds.

[Spike]

You could make more than 18,500 working as a part time manager at McDonalds.

I looked into this a few years back out of curiosity. At that time, a college graduate hired at McDonalds into their management program would enter as a manager trainee at $22,500. They would jump up several thousand dollars when promoted to assistant manager. They generally made manager within about five years if they stuck with the company and were looking at $40K. After about ten years they were looking at regional management positions at $60K or higher.

So. After ten years in television you might be an anchor somewhere making considerably more than a McDonalds regional manager. More likely is that you would still be a reporter making less than the RM. But suppose for a moment that after ten years you were making exactly the same as the RM. He's STILL better off than you are, because he started higher and has been making more money over the years while you were struggling and clawing your way up. His retirement fund has more in it, and he probably owns a lot more house than you do. Along the way he has been able to drive nicer cars and own nicer things. And he probably had better health and dental insurance than you did.

And McDonalds isn't even the best in the fast food industry. Chik-Fil-A goes even further for their employees, paying for their education. Many of them to go back to school and get their MBAs on CFA's dime. Not to mention that once you have been trained by one of these companies, you can get hired away to other restaurant companies to manage their restaurants. You don't have to stick with the corporate program.

This is why McDonalds has a stick up its ass about people using the term "McJob." Sure, it applies to the high school kids pressing burgers, dropping fries and getting your order wrong. But the managers aren't doing that bad. They may go home at the end of the day smelling like burgers, but that's not always worse than smelling like a newsroom.

[Bill-1]

Good for you for passing. 5 years ago this post would have been I accepted the job but it pays crap. The only way to get salaries increased is not to accept low numbers. If they don't come back with a number you can live with you're probably better off not working there.

[TAFKA wacowx]

You also need to ask yourself which job offers you the most benefit? Looking at location, proximity to friends and family, fun getaway locations...etc. What about benefits? Could be the new station pays 100% of your health insurance compared to 50% at your current station....or there may be other benefits that make it worth your move?

A good rule of thumb is do not take a new job for less than a 20% increase in salary, however 'salary' can be loosely defined...if 401K matching or other insurance benefits are added in that you may not have had before. Plus, if you can live much closer to your new job, thus eliminating a good chunck of commuting costs...or can find MUCH cheaper housing in the new market...or live in the same city as family members you used to pay hundreds of dollars a year to visit...etc....you can and should make the switch.

Of course none of this may matter and if so, it's a good thing you didn't take the job...just don't always expect that salary increases with market size.

[The Mockingbird]

The vast majority of broadcast companies take advantage of journalists. Part is the system, part is supply and demand. But the vast majority of it is corporate greed, plain and simple.

Television companies turn borderline ridiculous profits-- Not companies like Nexstar, who have ridiculous amounts of debt, of course, but most companies that don't have business models designed by psychotic eight year olds.

It's not uncommon to see a first place station turning a profit of 60 cents on the dollar.

[Spike]

Television companies turn borderline ridiculous profits-- Not companies like Nexstar, who have ridiculous amounts of debt, of course, but most companies that don't have business models designed by psychotic eight year olds.

http://stressshrink.com/communities/004/005/413/611/images/4510270510.jpg

Your next GM.

[Spike]

And here's your CEO:

http://www.thebigt.com/mazda-zoom-zoom.jpg

("Zoom zoom.")

[Galaxian]

You also need to ask yourself which job offers you the most benefit? Looking at location, proximity to friends and family, fun getaway locations...etc. What about benefits? Could be the new station pays 100% of your health insurance compared to 50% at your current station....or there may be other benefits that make it worth your move?

A good rule of thumb is do not take a new job for less than a 20% increase in salary, however 'salary' can be loosely defined...if 401K matching or other insurance benefits are added in that you may not have had before. Plus, if you can live much closer to your new job, thus eliminating a good chunck of commuting costs...or can find MUCH cheaper housing in the new market...or live in the same city as family members you used to pay hundreds of dollars a year to visit...etc....you can and should make the switch.

Of course none of this may matter and if so, it's a good thing you didn't take the job...just don't always expect that salary increases with market size.
I took a look at the cost of moving to where this job is, and under the offer, I'd come out on the losing end, due to various cost of living factors, as well as things like state taxes and the like. I also have no family in that area, and the "getaway" spots are about as comparable to the ones where I am now.

What it all comes down, for me, is money. The benefits and other such things will be the same. But it would be stupid of me to move to a place that would offer a slightly higher salary, but would leave me with less "take home" pay than where I am now.

The offer's still out there, so I reckon I'll see what transpires.

[WOS]

Because of "supply and demand" and corporate greed, look for salaries to limbo even lower, with a precious few exceptions. If you want to make a decent salary, look outside local TV news. Outside of that, be poor, work hard and try like hell to be one of the few who can grab the golden ring. It's a business, and businesses are designed to maximize profits. Nothing more. With a few notable exceptions, whether you're good is secondary to how cheaply you'll work. You better love it enough to sacrifice a decent living to work at more and more places in this biz. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just the rules. Local television news is rapidly becoming "local access," quality-wise.

[Tornadocane]

Ok. I am confused...you said that the salary offered was less than what you're making at your current station. And, you're asking your boss for a counter offer?? Am I reading this right or did I miss something? But, you're making more money than said bigger market is willing to offer. Correct? So, what is the counter offer for?? Just confused..

[Spike]

Ok. I am confused...you said that the salary offered was less than what you're making at your current station. And, you're asking your boss for a counter offer?? Am I reading this right or did I miss something? But, you're making more money than said bigger market is willing to offer. Correct? So, what is the counter offer for?? Just confused..

I was confused too, but I think he clarified in his last post that he was offered slightly more than he's making now, but with the cost of living and tax issues in the new location he would effectively be doing worse. If he was offered slightly more, he could try to use that to leverage a better counteroffer from his current employer.

The thing is that you really shouldn't try to get a counteroffer out of someone unless you're really prepared to leave. Suppose you go in and tell your boss that you've got a better offer from somewhere else. Suppose the boss says, "Sorry, no can do. Good luck, we'll miss you." Now if you go back and say, "Uh, I've decided I don't want to leave after all," the boss is going to know that you were bluffing. He knows that if the other offer were really better, you would have taken it. He might even think you were lying about the offer being better. Continuing to work there could be quite uncomfortable. Your boss probably won't trust you after that. It would also hurt you in any future negotiations you might have with him, since he'll think everything you say could be a bluff.

If you want to risk it, go ahead. But weigh your chances carefully and be prepared to leave if it doesn't work.

[TVNewsLady]

It is amazing how we are short changed for the work we do. I shouldn't be amazed after 8 years in the business, but I tend to be. In some ways, we do it to ourselves. Think about it. There are thousands of 22 year old reporters wanting to make it into Market 25. They're willing to take the job for $25,000. I know because I've seen it happen. I don't know if we'll ever get back to experience trumping lower pay, in terms of how ND's are hiring. I have a bad feeling about it. It makes me want to run with wide open arms to PR sometimes.

[east coast producer]

And as many times as it is said, it bears repeating:

Market size means nothing!

Prior to my current gig, I fell 25 markets and earned 29% more (and paid $250 less in rent/utilities).

[east coast producer]

It makes me want to run with wide open arms to PR sometimes.

Good luck with that. I've been targeting government PR/PIO gigs for a few months now with zero luck.

[Rosenblum]

Increasingly lower salaries are the result of a free market and nothing else.
The market is telling you something. Listen to it.
As video goes online, and more and more people see how relatively easy it is to make video; as the gear gets cheaper and cheaper and into more people's hands, both the perceived market value of that skill, and ultimately the real value will continue to drop.

At the same time, new technologies also mean new opportunities, but the jobs are not where you might have been looking before.

The ability to deliver content, as opposed to being part of a machine that made content for someone else is where the future is. Go there. It has far brighter prospects than PR.

[MyracleMan]

Starting reporter salary: $16,500

Starting Production salary (copywriter) : $16,000

Average amount removed for taxes/benefits: 21%

Average salary after taxes: $12,640 - $13035

Average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment: $650

Average cost of phone/cable/internet bundle: $100

Average student loan payment: $300/month

Average utilities per month (gas, electricity, garbage, etc.): $100

This does not include food, trips home for holidays, any incedentals like new clothes to wear on your days off, sickness, prescription meds, cell phone, etc. At the end of the year, your starting reporter is in the hole $765. Your average production kid is in the hole $1265.

Is it any wonder most of the kids coming out of college still sponge off mommy and daddy for at least the first two years they're working?

[s'news]

Keep in mind that in a larger market, usually, you're coming in at the bottom of their scale. If you've been where you are for some time in a smaller market, you're probably getting up on the high side of their scale.

So there's usually more upside potential in the larger market.

[Roy Hobbs]

It makes me want to run with wide open arms to PR sometimes.

Well in that case Little Lady...
http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/c/c7/310px-Kalterhd.JPG
Big Red's just changed his on-air name to Peter Ross..but you can call me PR!

[kybubba]

An idiot for spending all those years in television at crap salaries..I should have done PR from the very beginning...

Just for the record? My first job in tv as a one-man-band reporter was $10,400 dollar GROSS...I should have applied for food stamps but didn't know any better...so sad...

[Kelvin Hemholtz]

Because of "supply and demand" and corporate greed, look for salaries to limbo even lower, with a precious few exceptions. If you want to make a decent salary, look outside local TV news. Outside of that, be poor, work hard and try like hell to be one of the few who can grab the golden ring. It's a business, and businesses are designed to maximize profits. Nothing more. With a few notable exceptions, whether you're good is secondary to how cheaply you'll work. You better love it enough to sacrifice a decent living to work at more and more places in this biz. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just the rules. Local television news is rapidly becoming "local access," quality-wise.

You got it! Business is business. People still watch news even with the top 20 markets hiring people who would usually be just making mid-markets experience wise.

Stations now have the older main anchors, main weather and main sports people and everyone else is younger and cheaper from top to bottom. Because it's just business. Nothing wrong with a profit. Just makes it harder to stay in this business the older you get. Trying to get a job in a larger market and finding the salary is the same or LOWER is actually pretty darn common. That's just the cold, hard truth. Only the audience can really change that. If they somehow stop watching and it hurts ratings and ultimately ad sales... then things may change. Don't hold your breath.

And yes, there is no doubt the quality suffers. It's not the same as 10-15 years ago even with "better equipment."

[!]

I But suppose for a moment that after ten years you were making exactly the same as the RM. He's STILL better off than you are, because he started higher and has been making more money over the years while you were struggling and clawing your way up.
No, he's putting away more money, perhaps, but he's definitely not "better off" unless you've always wanted to be a fast-food employee.

I have two decades of experiences in TV news that I will always remember. He doesn't have that, and I have never been a fan of working 40+ hours a week at a job I don't like.

[WisconsinWX]

I'm curious as to whether or not the original poster bothered to make a counter-offer to the mid-market employer or just took the offer they gave at face value. If you're afraid to negotiate you're not going to get any more money or perks from anybody.

[Brain Cramp]

I'm curious as to whether or not the original poster bothered to make a counter-offer to the mid-market employer or just took the offer they gave at face value. If you're afraid to negotiate you're not going to get any more money or perks from anybody.

I'm curious as to whether you read the original poster's post and saw this -

"In polite terms, I told the news director that salary wasn't going to cut it, and I'm awaiting a response to see if a higher number is offered."

[TAFKA wacowx]

I have two decades of experiences in TV news that I will always remember. He doesn't have that, and I have never been a fan of working 40+ hours a week at a job I don't like.

You have no way of knowing whether or not the person may have actually liked his job as well as you like yours and in the same respect, he or she may have absolutely no interest in what you do in TV and could care less for your 20 years of experiences. You can't just assume anyone who is a regional manager in fast food is somehow unhappy with his or her lot in life because it's a career that you wouldn't be happy with.

[WisconsinWX]

I'm curious as to whether you read the original poster's post and saw this -

"In polite terms, I told the news director that salary wasn't going to cut it, and I'm awaiting a response to see if a higher number is offered."

Touche.

I read the original post way back and was checking in again.

[Spike]

No, he's putting away more money, perhaps, but he's definitely not "better off" unless you've always wanted to be a fast-food employee.

I have two decades of experiences in TV news that I will always remember. He doesn't have that, and I have never been a fan of working 40+ hours a week at a job I don't like.

The arrogance of teevee people never ceases to amaze.

[!]

The arrogance of teevee people never ceases to amaze.

And yet, you continue to associate on this board with them, as if you can find no one else who will have you.

Amazing.

[Galaxian]

I declined the job offer. Long story short, the salary was not enough for my asking price. Now, I wasn't asking for an outrageous salary; I made an offer that I felt was appropriate for my background, and for the market. Negotiations failed to accomplish that, so I stood my ground. I hope the station finds the right person for the job, though I think they'll make a low offer. Who wouldn't? This is TV news; we pay like sh*t.

[east coast producer]

I declined the job offer. Long story short, the salary was not enough for my asking price. Now, I wasn't asking for an outrageous salary; I made an offer that I felt was appropriate for my background, and for the market. Negotiations failed to accomplish that, so I stood my ground. I hope the station finds the right person for the job, though I think they'll make a low offer. Who wouldn't? This is TV news; we pay like sh*t.

I'm turned down a few for that reason during my Great Job Search of 2005. I recollect Vegas (#43 now) at $32k (search for my earlier rant about the crosscountry-in-a-day interview)... Milwaukee, though we didn't get into numbers. I interviewed for an 11pm gig and was offered weekend mornings. Lol! Green Bay (#69), surprisingly, offered me $38k. West Palm (#38) was $32.5k. Miami (#16) mornings offered $34k.

I ended up in market smaller than the smallest I mentioned above and earned the most. Of course, now I'm in New York and blow my nose with $5,000 bills. :)

[The Mockingbird]

In 1998, West Palm was paying $45k for junior producers. That wasn't a livable salary THEN.

[rwood8]

still in college.

on my first job, producer, 40s mkt...

26k, plus ot.

-----

i'm happy. i guess i'm easy to please.