How accurate are these reports of annual salaries at the Los Angeles Times?

Top-tier columnist -- Steve Lopez, Bill Plaschke, T.J. Simers -- $500,000.

Entry-level reporter through METPRO program -- $100,000.

 

There is absolutely no way an entry-level reporter is making six figs. That place has been practically firebombing its newsroom.

 

The top-tier columnist is probably about right, but can't imagine an entry-level reporter is making that much, even adjusted for California currency. It's not out of the question that said entry-level reporter (at least pre-Zell) was making high-60s.

 

Please. You think a guy making $10,000 a week for 2 or 3 columns, or, on hard weeks, 4 columns, is going to get his sorry ass into screaming bouts with the likes of the Around the Horn dolts? If Plaschke's even making half that 500K, he oughta give half of it to save some desk jobs.

 

Those figures are bogus. People with some experience would make $40-$50k.

 

Just guessing here, that METPRO thing looks like it might be outdated -- maybe that was the number through the program, but I'd wonder if the program exists anymore.

But if you think there are people in the Los Angeles Times newsroom making $40-50K, you need to stop commenting on threads like these until you learn something about the business. I would wager that any full-timer who was in before the Zell purchase (three years ago, I believe) is hovering near six figures at the very least. Remember, these people were coming from pretty good jobs in the first place, and the Velvet Coffin pay scale still exists to a large degree. I'm not as sure about the latest hires, but keep in mind that Singleton's sweatshops are lowballing employees to the tune of $40-50K. The L.A. Times is way, way above that.

 

An entry-level reporter isn't making $100K. But I can see those going through METPRO making that much.

 

Bill Rorich: This is a brutal layoff. And all because they couldn't program Wednesday nights.
Paul Moore: You can make it less brutal by knocking a million or so off your salary.

 

Mr. X:

Where are these reports coming from? Source or link, please.

 

Exactly what I was going to say. Where did you pull these numbers from?

 

Tons of people at the la times DO NOT make $100,000. Most do not. An assistant sports editor with 20 years experience would make around $110,000, and that is because of salaries instituted before Tribune company bought the LAT. Salaries have decreased under Tribune's watch.

 

I wondered about that, too.
If he's really making that much, is ATH worth the bother?