FT’s US editorial staff in dispute over pay raise

Journalists at the Financial Times in the United States are in dispute with management after seeking salary rises averaging just over $4,000 to cover the higher cost of living than UK counterparts, reports Bron Maher of journalism.co.uk.

Maher reports, “FT US Guild argues cost of living differences between the UK and US mean their overall remuneration is both lower than their London counterparts and uncompetitive compared with other US newsrooms. It has asked for a one-time additional salary increase for its members, many of whom work at the New York office. Currently-advertised reporter salaries for FT journalists in the US start in the $71,000 to $75,000 range.

“The dispute highlights a broader challenge for UK media titles seeking to expand in the US where pay levels for journalism jobs are far higher than the UK.

“Among UK journalists the Financial Times has a reputation as a comparatively well-paying employer, with its National Union of Journalists chapel regularly securing annual, inflation-linked pay rises for the paper’s global editorial workforce.”

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Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.