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In regards to Gray raising their hourly minimum wage to $18 an hour.

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Scott,

You may have seen the news that Gray Television will, as of October, have a company-wide minimum wage of $18 an hour.  That’s $37,440 a year.  Not great, but in TV news, it's not relatively terrible.

What a lot of people fail to realize is Gray included a huge loophole.  According to the company’s press release, its minimum wage only affects “full-time, non-commissioned and non-contracted employees.”  In other words, if you’re under a contract — as most people in TV news are — you can still be paid less money.  Only one in four Gray employees will get the raise.

Gray could have made this a true company-wide minimum wage, which would establish a much-needed precedent in this business.  Even Nexstar and Sinclair, as cheap as they are, would have noticed.  But Gray chose to not do so.  That’s why I’m not surprised to see its recruiters post the same open jobs on social media for weeks and weeks on end.

Want to attract good employees?  Offer better salaries.  Broadcasters just don't get it.  Judging by some of the comments I've seen in response to Gray's post on Linkedin, others agree.

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Scott,

Some small market news managers make 18.50. -19.00 an hour. They are not getting a raise. Nor are the legacy employees who make 20-25 an hour, which is still very tight.

I appreciate making sure people get a living wage. But once again, a company is neglecting long-term employees who have stuck around through Covid and ownership changes (that went poorly under Gray). Just more incentive for more experienced journalists to dump TV news.

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Hey Scott,

 Reading this morning’s press release about Gray’s “minimum wage increase” felt like a punch in the gut. As a part-time employee, it’s incredibly demoralizing to be left out of a raise. The extra money, albeit not much, would’ve allowed me not to have a panic attack every time I check my bank account. Gray had a chance to step out and become an industry leader in employee compensation and they fumbled the ball. Hilton Howell calling it an “industry leading new wage floor” is downright dishonest and shameful. At best, it’s a half-assed PR ploy. Hopefully, they consider implementing a real minimum wage that covers all employees regardless of their classification.

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Hey,

Gray is acting like this is a big deal. The McDonald’s near my house is offering $18.50 an hour.