Where
the Bucks Are
An ASBPE
survey shows that editors’ incomes vary widely.
The best way to make sure you’re among the big earners:
Aim for a senior position with a large-circulation magazine.
By
Ian Bruce
EDITOR'S NOTE: From May to August of 1995, Ian Bruce,
a graduate student at Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School
of Communications, conducted a survey of business press editors.
The goal of the survey was to help ASBPE plan future programs
and activities. In this issue, Bruce reports on salary information
garnered from that survey. In our next
issue, Alan Earls reports on editors' views on the journalism
profession.
According to a recent
ASBPE survey of business press editors, women are paid significantly
less than men, even when they appear to be doing the same job.
Results also indicate that the median salary range for senior-level
editors (those with the title of editor-in-chief of managing editor)
is $40,000 to $49,999, while the median salary range for all other
editors is $30,000 to $39,999. All editors can earn significantly
more than these median ranges, though, if they have greater professional
experience, are older, or work for publications with larger circulations.
The survey asked 601 randomly selected editors, publishers, and
freelance writers a wide range of questions about their professional
lives. The names were drawn from ASBPE’s mailing list, which
includes both ASBPE members and nonmembers. A total of 303 questionnaires
were completed and returned, representing a response rate of 51
percent.
What Pays
Editors were asked to report their approximate salaries before
taxes in 1994. Answers were grouped in $10,000 increments up to
$80,000.
It was immediately apparent that editors’ incomes vary widely.
The median salary for all editors is in the $40,000-to-$49,999
range, but only about 55 percent of editors’ salaries fall
between $30,000 and $60,000. Because a relatively large number
of the respondents (about 11 percent) were owners or publishers,
the distribution of salaries is skewed toward the high end. Almost
14 percent reported earning more than $80,000 a year, after taxes.
(For comparison, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate
that the average salary for editors and reporters is $31,000.)
An editor’s position on the masthead can explain much of
this variation in income. For the purposes of data analysis, editors
were divided into three groups:
The median salaries within each group were significantly different.
The median for Owners/Publishers was over $80,000; for Senior
Editors, in the $40,000-to-$49,999 range; and for Other Editors,
$30,000 to $39,999. But even within each category, editors’
incomes differed widely. For example, although Senior Editors
had a median income in the $40,000-to-$49,999 range, 11 percent
reported earning more than $80,000 in 1994, while 9 percent reported
that they earned less than $30,000.
Some of this variation in an individual’s income can be
explained by the editor’s experience, age, and the size of
the publication’s circulation—in that order. All editors,
no matter what their position on the masthead, can expect to earn
significantly more if they have more professional experience,
or if they are older, or if they work for publications with larger
circulations.
Surprisingly, when comparing the incomes of ASBPE members with
those of former and nonmembers of the association, we found that
members earn significantly more than the other two groups. This
is probably because the ASBPE attracts more senior, experienced
editors and shouldn’t be considered an intrinsic benefit
of membership!
Sex Discrimination
Perhaps the most disturbing finding of the survey is that women
are paid significantly less than men. Taken as a group, female
editors have a median salary in the $40,000-to-$49,999 range,
while male editors report a median salary in the $50,000-to-$59,999
range. Even when controlling for age, experience, or job title,
women earn less. For example, within the category Senior Editor,
we found that 15 percent of men reported earning more than $70,000,
compared to only 7 percent of women.
Survey results also show evidence of another form of discrimination—a
“glass ceiling” that prevents women from attaining senior
management positions as readily as men. When we examined the proportion
of women and men by job title, we found that women seem to be
excluded from the position of owner or publisher: 13 percent of
men reported such a title, compared to only 6.5 percent of women.
Interestingly, a greater proportion of women than men attain the
rank of managing editor or editor-in-chief, although women in
these positions tend to be paid less than their male counterparts.
Judging just from this survey’s results, the business press
might easily be described as a male-dominated profession. Men
account for 60 percent of the respondents to the survey, they
earn significantly more than women, and they are more likely to
rise to the position of owner or publisher.
The Survey Respondents
A total of 30 percent of the respondents were current members
of the ASBPE; 15 percent were former members and 55 percent nonmembers.
More than 98 percent had a college education. The most popular
major was journalism (34 percent), followed by English (23 percent).
Approximately 11 percent reported they were owners or publishers,
58 percent held senior editorial positions, and the remaining
11 percent were freelancers or held noneditorial positions (e.g.,
art director).
Results of the survey have several limitations. They survey sample
was derived from the ASBPE mailing list, which many or may not
be representative of the general population of business press
editors. The response rate of 51 percent leaves almost half the
sample unaccounted for, and nonrespondents may differ in important
respects to respondents. However, statistical analysis suggest
that the survey is unbiased and representative of the general
population of editors found on the ASBPE mailing list. It’s
also worth noting that the survey did not ask editors for information
on any benefits of employment beyond their basis salaries.
Finally , many editors commented that while salaries in many
cases were increasing, so were their weekly work hours. In general,
editors reported an increase in their work hours corresponding
with cuts in their editorial staff.
From the March/April 1996 issue of the ASBPE National
Newshound
Return to the Main
Archives Page
|
