Toronto Star creates two-tiered pay system in its newsroom

The Star is laying off 11 page editors while creating eight new digital-only journalism positions. But the people hired for these jobs will be paid about $200 less per week than entry-level print reporters.



According to a memo sent by editor-in-chief Michael Cooke and managing editor Jane Davenport, the Star will pay the digital journalists “market-based salaries,” comparable to what they say can be found at Huffington Post, Facebook, Rogers, Canadian Press and Bell Media.

“Simply put, this means that new digital jobs cannot be rated on print business legacy rates of pay,” the memo said. “Digital revenues—as important as we think they will be for our future—are still out-paced by print revenues 9-to-1.”

It also appears that, unlike print reporters, the digital people will not be able to move up the salary grid. The union, obviously, is pissed.

Anyway, here's an ad for digital reporting jobs and here's an ad for digital producing if anyone is interested in applying.

 

Just wait until they want those copy editors to work on the print product.

"Nope, sorry. I'm only a digital editor."

 

$961 a week? Obviously that's before taxes, but that would be much better money than I'm currently making. Can one live in the city on that salary?

 

Canadian dollars, KY, Canadian dollars.

And since Canadian money is like vouchers at the Loony Bin, it will be much less in real, 'Murican money*.

*While I don't see the figure you cited, current conversion is $1 USD = .91 Canadian, so that become roughly 875 American

 

Baron Scicluna continues to show no concept of how a big newsroom works.

And the only thing unique about this structure is that they announced it so transparently.

 

And if they stick to that response....

"Now you aren't even that. Best of luck in your search for new employment."

 

So you think they won't try to bulldoze the bargain-rate newbies over to do the work of the higher-paid printsters the first time somebody calls in sick?

If the new 'digital-only' (har-de-har har) hires have J-school degrees, they'll shove notebooks (and vidcams) in their hands, kick 'em out the door, and tell 'em to go cover news beats.

They'll do it as fast as they can to get rid of all the higher paid print employees and convert the whole workforce to Mickey D-wage level digital drones.

RACE TO THE BOTTOM.

 

The Digital Revolution now begins its second round of executions.

 

I think I'll put this on a poster and hang it in my shop ... which is in a smaller city, with tons of empty-nesters-and-older residents.

Our ratio of print to online revenue is probably 30-to-1.

 

It's a union job, right? And with the new title, it's supposed to be a different job, right? Then treat it like a different job. If it's the same job as it was, if the contract is in force, then it should be the same pay.

 

That's about $50 more than I currently make each two-week cycle.