Majority of biz journalists have seen pay raise in past year

A majority of business journalists in the United States received a pay raise within the past 12 months, according to an informal survey of nearly 250 business reporters and editors conducted by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers.

Of those that received a raise, two-thirds said the increased pay occurred at their current job. A third of the respondents also replied that their pay remained unchanged in the past year.

The survey discovered that the median survey of business journalists remained at between $65,000 and $70,000. The SABEW survey found the same median salary range in 2010 and 2011.

SABEW received 247 responses to the survey this summer in an attempt to quantify compensation among the estimated 8,000 business journalists working in the United States. More than 3,000 business journalists were invited to participate through direct email to SABEW members, notices on sabew.org and other communications. The 2011 poll received 317 responses.

“It’s encouraging that media companies understand the significance of paying good business journalists,” said Jill Jorden Spitz, the president of SABEW and assistant managing editor for business at the Arizona Daily Star. “These are the reporters and editors who are explaining the significance of major events in companies, the markets and our economy to millions of readers and viewers every day.”

Of those who received raises, more than two-thirds said that their increase was less than $5,000, whereas one in six said that their salary had increased between $5,000 and $10,000. Ten percent said their salary rose by more than $15,000.

The pay raises were for various reasons. Some business journalists said they leveraged job offers at other media organizations into raises at their current employer. Others noted that they work at a newsroom covered by a union that negotiated a cost-of-living increase in pay.

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