AME page design/sports, Kerrville (Texas) Daily Times

Well said, Anonymous Tough Guy.

 

Well, do they throw in housing as well? Maybe they should. Like the whole staff could live in a commune or something.

 

Thanks for the flowers JMB. Mr. Wilson, there is definitely no bitterness on my part. I know there are a lot of guys out there looking for jobs. The experiences of Kerrville have been well documented on these boards. If the pay wasn't low and there was less aggravation, it would be a good stop. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

 

The key issue here is: this is a place that is hiring when most others are firing or just simply folding in on themselves. This is a place that is in good standing with its company and is still making money instead of losing it like a busted artery.
Any personal issues aside, this is a place like all others -- if you play by the rules and within the framework already established by those above you, you'll fare fine, and likely come to enjoy your time here. If you try to argue with your bosses or cause unrest within the office setting, yeah, you won't be long for this job. It's been my understanding that this practice is common place within the business world. That being said, this is a place that fights for its employees as much as humanly possible.
Pay scale aside, it is relatively inexpensive to live in Kerrville and you are surrounded by the beautiful Texas Hill Country. Although not the ideal setting for a young person -- given the excessive amount of retired folks -- there is definitely a solid draw for those looking to settle down and make Kerrville a home.
The way the economy is affecting our market, there are going to be issues anywhere you go. But rest assured, any issues you find here will likely be 100-fold worse at other locations.

 

Great biking area and a cute town. But that's a long day for a little money, even in a relatively inexpensive place.

 

Schreiner athletics. Hoo-boy.

Hill country's wonderful, though $25K doesn't cut it there, anymore. $20K? Maybe if you shared a house with some of the Schreiner University students you were covering?

 

no, the key issue here is that we have another newspaper paying crap wages. and that you are trying to make that sound ok because hey, at least they're hiring, is offensive. and if someone is "looking to settle down and make Kerrville a home," they darn sure can't do that on this pay.

 

Agreed ...
Estimated median household income in 2007: $37,023 (it was $32,085 in 2000) from city-data.com

 

The key to survival here is RAMEN!

 

If you're running the news desk and the sports department, you won't have time to cook Ramen.

 

Listen, I tried to be nice and make a simple point. But you're a fool to think you or anyone else is better than any job available, with the way the market is shaping out. I'm going to assume, like myself, you have a decent job already, and are not out scouring the gutters for one. And for your sake, I hope to God you never have to. But that's not the way things are working out for many of our brethren out there. Good people better then you or me, are getting laid off by the truck load. This is not the time to be an elitist snob regarding open positions. $30,000 a year is a whole hell of a lot better than weekly unemployment checks. If there are better jobs out there, with better pay, at bigger papers, then good luck, but those openings are pretty friggin scarce right now.

 

This is pretty much the truth with any journalism job at a smaller paper these days. It's pretty much an entry-level or second step job.

I'm sure they'd love to get someone with some experience, but their limits are what they are. If you have aspirations of making more than that, then obviously this one isn't the one for you. Someone else will come along and accept it for what it is.

It is a buyer's market these days.