What is upper management saying when.....

jajack71

jajack71

Well-known member
Just want to know what are you telling your photog's when the ask for a decent salary ? I just don't get it and I have talked about this with reporter about photog's making way less than what we should be making. As a chief do you try to tell upper management the crap we put up with from the desk to reporters to producers calling you for a update when they just sent you out the door ?

I was just thinking about all the stuff I love about being a photographer. Then I started thinking about how not only myself but other photog brothers and sisters are being shafted when it comes to fair pay.

As chief are you guys really standing by your photog's or did you take the job for a few pennies more and not really represent your staff. I mean I'm in a top twenty market and being worked like I'm in a top 5 but paid like I'm in market 70.

Just had to vent a little
 
Well, as a chief making significantly less than I should be, I feel your pain. My "raise" last year was less than the rate of inflation, so I actually took a pay cut by staying at my current job.

I look at it as inspiration to move on and get out of the business.

You have to love what you do to keep on doing what we do every day. Unfortunately, there are so many people applying and so few slots available that stations can pretty much pay what they want to.
On top of that, there are quite a few stations (mine included) attempting to make due with less and they'll pay for a crappier product if it means putting less cash into salaries.

If you want to make money, move into creative services, or really anyplace except news.

I wish I had more cheerful advice but I'd rather be honest with you.
 
I feel your pain...

I've had the "photogs don't make enough" discussion with two GM's over the past 5 years and the entry level pay has actually gone up $2.25/hour (more than $4,500/yr. @ 40 hr/wk) since I got here and I feel it's still not enough.

Another $1.50/hr at least would be a reasonable starting pay for our market size (#62) . That would push photogs into the low 30's before OT and that is a reasonable rate considering our medium market size, cost of living and the fact that we are usually the stopping point before the big market jump.

That rate would mean (in the majority of situations) photogs would stay 2-3 years instead of one, they could have a reasonable income for their experience and our market size, recruiting new applicants would get easier and more applicants would apply.

I have another meeting this week about this very topic and we'll see...
 
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Spot remover said:
That would push photogs into the low 30's before OT and that is a reasonable rate considering our medium market size, cost of living and the fact that we are usually the stopping point before the big market jump.
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I wish I could hit the low 30's as the chief in market 82 before overtime!

How am I supposed to have confidence in ensuring my photogs get paid well when I don't get paid fairly in the first place?
 
we are usually the stopping point before the big market jump.
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If you are where I think you are (SW Florida) you should argue the point that you are between two major markets that will continue to siphon off photogs with more money.
 
redcoat said:
I wish I could hit the low 30's as the chief in market 82 before overtime!

How am I supposed to have confidence in ensuring my photogs get paid well when I don't get paid fairly in the first place?
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I'm in the low 20's in market 149 as a chief with 8 yrs shooting experience. No overtime either... Just comp-time that I can only take when it's convenient for the station.

Imagine how hard it's been to hire people here!
 
Pay in the news business is so bad. I would like to come back, but hearing that you are making less money that I made working part-time at a city job. And I was getting paid bad for what I was doing. I still don't know why the shooter is the bottom feeder. Without us, it would radio on TV....
 
Pimping the shooter's

My thing is this when you do all the work Shooting,Editing,Live Shot's, Technical Operations ie (figuring out why the truck won't send out video etc...) deal with producers trying to explain to them that the live shot won't work because the shot they want is out of range of your hit site and God knows what else management throws your way.

Then you find out that a reporter or worse a desk person is making double what you make yeah I have a problem with that one. Necktie said it all. There is no newscast without a photog. Hell I can do a Nat Pkg and tell the stroy reporter not included. For the record I work with great reporters.

I'm just tried of getting burnt at each end of the stick. Why is it that a reporter get's a hour to write their pkg or talking to their boy/girlfriend then look at me and ask " How long will it take for you to cut this ? duuuuuhhhh the rule is hour to write an hour to edit. Not you get 1:50 to log and write then I get five minutes to edit and tweek before we hit the air. All that for 35 to 41 g's I don't think so.
 
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