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What does it mean when a paper provides affordable housing?

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Matt Stephens, Feb 24, 2011.

  1. Matt Stephens

    Matt Stephens Well-Known Member

    Didn't know where else to put this.

    I was talking to a former colleague who used to work at a paper in a tourist town and said that the publication provided him affordable housing.

    This was a bit confusing to me because when I think of affordable housing, I think of apartments that cater to those who have median or lower incomes, and with the paper he worked for, I can only assume he was in the salary range to qualify for affordable housing anyway.

    Is there a difference between making a standard journalist income and a paper providing affordable housing?
     
  2. Turtle Wexler

    Turtle Wexler Member

    It likely means that the area has very little affordable housing, or there's a long waiting list to get into it.

    I'd take this to mean they're going to pay peanuts but they've secured either a public affordable housing spot or made arrangements with a landlord for below-market rent.

    Of course, this "affordable housing" may be renting a room off the garage of the city editor's house. Or acting as the caretaker to the publisher's summer cottage. Or any other undesirable situations.

    This situation requires a lot of questions up front.
     
  3. TrooperBari

    TrooperBari Well-Known Member

    Most definitely.

    My previous stop offered housing free of charge at the company apartment block. Even in China, you get what you pay for.
     
  4. Ben_Hecht

    Ben_Hecht Active Member


    Or a very nice packing box, with hot and cold running vermin, under one of the finest overpasses in East Uppercrust.
     
  5. KJIM

    KJIM Well-Known Member

    What did your friend say about it?
     
  6. Boom_70

    Boom_70 Well-Known Member

    If the IRS has a look it could be a taxable event.
     
  7. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    Has it come to this? Newpaper wages are so bad they need to put folks up in a company town complete with a company store, I'll bet.

    Oh, you need a can of beans for dinner? Better bat out that high school roundup then!
     
  8. nmmetsfan

    nmmetsfan Active Member

    Two words: communal newspapers
     
  9. Michael_ Gee

    Michael_ Gee Well-Known Member

    A van down by the river with WiFi.
     
  10. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    I know a guy who refused annual raises because they would push him above the maximum income allowed to stay in the affordable housing program. He was a single guy and got a surprisingly roomy 500 sq ft apartment in the heart of downtown -- if he had made $1,000 more in income, he would have been paying $5,000 more to rent the same kind of place. Some of those affordable housing places are not bad at all; it has been the new wave in a lot of places, compel the developer to build affordable units as part of the land sale to do the profitable part of the project.
     
  11. SoCalDude

    SoCalDude Active Member

    If I recall correctly, when USA Today was being launched, they bought a dorm in Virginia and provided free rooms for staff that were bring brought in from around the country.
    They nicknamed it: Stay-free mini pads.


    And to show how long I've been in this, at my first job, perks for the editors they hired were interest-free home loans. The Sports Editor of this 45k suburban paper lived on the same block as celebrities and other upper crust personalities.
     
  12. DK

    DK Member

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 15, 2014
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