This week, FTVLive has been sharing stories from News Directors about some of the people they encountered in job interviews.

Now, we have an email from a Journalist that was sitting on the other side of the desk.

Scott,

I’m not a news director but I have sat on the other side of the desk for many job interviews in my journalism career.  In one interview, I was offered a full-time producing job in a top-ten market, with a salary offer of $65,000/year.  I made my case for a higher-but-reasonable salary.  The hiring manager said no, because according to her, I was at the top of the budgeted salary range for the job.  I did take that job because it was a substantial increase from what I was earning at my then-current station.

Flash forward a few years later.  I spoke with a friend and former co-worker who, like me, left the TV news business.  He was also a producer who had the same responsibilities as I did, and the same years of experience.  However, he told me he earned just over $100,000/year at our mutual former station, because he asked for and received the salary he wanted.  To be clear, the news director who hired me left the station, and the replacement is the one who hired my friend.  But it’s also clear this station had the money to spend.

I imagine if I asked my hiring manager for $100,000/year, I would be deemed unreasonable, wouldn’t I?  After all, this is TV news, where some companies pay as little as $15/hour for on-air jobs that require college experience, while jobs at McDonald’s and Target can pay as much as $20 — no college degree required.  

You know, maybe it’s the terrible salaries and wages in this business that are unreasonable!  Don’t blame the job applicants who ask to make a decent living in this business.  I have little sympathy for news directors who complain about the difficulty in finding qualified applicants when their company refuses to pay better salaries.

You get what you pay for and you get whom you pay for.