Study shows inequity among pay in Forbes newsroom

Stark disparities in salaries and tenure exist between white newsroom workers and people of color at Forbes, according to a union study obtained by Axios reporters Sara Fischer and Kerry Flynn.

Fischer and Flynn report, “The study results come as Forbes’ union and management continue to battle for a contract, bolstering the union’s concerns of inclusion that it’s raised since joining the NewsGuild of New York in 2021.

“Details: The survey, parts of which were shared in March, found the union’s 61 full-time white members make $94,360 on average, almost $15,000 more than its eight Black members and $7,000 more than its 10 Asian members.

The six Hispanic or Latino staffers in the union outearn white members, on average, earning $99,750 annually.
The study also said the 20 longest-tenured members are all white and that no current staffers who have worked in the Forbes newsroom for at least 10 years are people of color.”

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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.