Online journalism job titles, responsibilities and pay rates (Part 2 of 2)

Missed part 1? Read it here.

What started this idea?
I get a lot of students asking me about jobs, titles and pay rates in the industry because they’re new and have no clue what to demand or what titles really mean. It can be a weird thing to navigate because there aren’t exactly clear standards for titles, responsibilities and pay rates. A lot of these depend on the market, corporation, time in the industry, awards, skills, etc. So please take this all with a grain of salt.

What’s it mean?
These numbers are all averages. The market / cost of living plays a large role in wages. A web producer job in Toledo, Ohio may pay $45,000, but in Toledo (with a very low cost of living) that’s a nice chunk of change. A web producer 4 hours away in Chicago making $45,000 is just doing ‘ok.’ The high end of the pay ranges (below) are usually from people working in NY, San Fran, LA or DC, where it’s much more expensive to live. So adjust based on your market.

Where can I get more info on salaries?
Rich Gordon at Medill alerted me to this salary estimator site: www.payscale.com

It’s one of the most in depth I’ve seen (while not being ridiculously lengthy to take) and relatively accurate compared to others. One of the problems though is still finding the right title (which was the impetuous for this post).

Where can I learn more about the survey data and your impressions?
In the previous post here.

General title terms to clarify:
(These are the generic names before and after the actual title that signify something. I.e. There is a difference between an Assistant Content Director and a Content Director.)

Assistant
Basically a way to say you’re a junior ___”whatever you are (producer, editor, etc…)”___.
Skills: An intense drive to ’someday’ become a full-fledged whatever and get rid of the ‘assistant’ stain on your title.
Pay: Subtract $5-10k from whatever job it is.

Deputy
Basically a way to say you’re a 3/4 junior ___”whatever you are”___.
Skills: A drive to finally become a full-fledged whatever and get rid of the ‘deputy’ stain on your title.
Pay: Subtract $2-7k from whatever job it is.

Senior
It seems like any position can be called senior. This is sometimes used to pacify a great worker in the organization and give them an important sounding title while not moving them into management (because they’re not fit for it or they don’t want it). Basically it means you have 5+ years of experience.
Skills: Anything +5 years using it.
Pay: Add roughly $10k

Project
Focused on long term developments (not daily web production), projects, new initiatives, new designs, new side sites and other projects.
Pay: Add $10,000 to your base position pay rate
Skills: All over the board. Obviously, project management is a huge one though. Diverse tech and business skills help a lot here too.

Producer
These are the worker bees. The term seems to be borrowed from Radio/TV, to signify the technical and backbreaking laborers who make the site/content sing. There are many varieties.
Skills: Very varied. See descriptions below.
Pay: They tend to be paid less than editors (but it all depends on what kind of producer you are). See below for examples.

Editor
This designates a position of authority, a management role. I know there are some crazy organizations out there that call their ‘producers’ editors, but they’re producers. Editors are management. Get with the program, St. Pete Times, and stop muddying the job title waters.
Skills: Being a fearless leader. Ideally, some tech skills too.
Pay: $5-$15k+ more than the producer counterparts

JOBS TITLES:

Community Producer
Focused on social interaction and hyperlocal community content. Blogs, wiki’s, micro-local news sites. Drupal ninjas.
Skills: HTML/CSS. Social networking sites. Marketing and conversational media expertise. Being well-read and engaged in the cutting edge of social media is critical.
Pay: $30-$50k

Web Producer or Online Producer
This is generally a generic term for shovel-ware operator or web feed poster. These people are the hardworking backbone of most online news websites. They are paid poorly, work horrible hours and generally do a job that should have been eliminated years ago by smarter content management systems or reorganized newsrooms that published web first.
Skills: Awesome copy editing and headline writing. Basic photo editing. HTML/CSS. Some places ask for other things like Flash, and multimedia but it’s rare that those skills are actually used every single day here (they are growing though).
Pay: $30-$40k (although I’ve seen these as low as upper-$20s and as high as 60k in top markets)

Interactive Producer
This is used to mean many things, from programming to community interaction to multimedia. There’s no uniform standard. From the data I collected, it’s generally a step above a web producer and on par or sometimes above a multimedia producer (but sometimes the titles are interchangeable).
Skills: Programming, community interaction, Flash, video, audio, photo, design, etc.
Pay: $40-60+k depending again on the requirements, responsibilities and experience/awards/skills you bring to the table.

Multimedia Producer
Generally a jack of all the media arts that also does some project management work.
Skills: Flash, video, audio, photo, design, etc.
Pay: $40-60k

Database Producer
There isn’t enough database anything to go around right now. Major media companies are dying to get these people on board but can’t because they pay substantially lower than what’s possible in the industry.
Skills: This is a crazy mixed bag. The foundation of CAR reporting is critical. Technical requirements tend to be broad and unrealistic asking for expertise in every buzzword possible MySql, Ruby on Rails, Python, PHP, Perl, Javascript, HTML, CSS, XML, Flash Actionscript.
Pay: $50-$60+k, although I’ve seen ads for the mid-30s from some major corporations. Which is laughable because you can make twice that turning data tricks on the street.

Web Developer
These folks create programs, applications and functionality in sites that are awesome. They are increasingly necessary in newsrooms, but hard to attract because of the lower wages and many, many opportunities outside of newspapers.
Skills: Lots of programming Ruby, Python, PHP, Perl, Javascript, HTML, CSS, XML, Flash Actionscript.
Pay: $50-70+k (This can explode close to and above 6 digits at the tip tier publications)

Web Designer
Similar to Web Developers, awesome web designers are hard to catch because the pay and opportunities are generally more liberal outside of newspapers. These folks design, code and create masterpiece designs.
Skills: High level HTML, CSS, design/graphic skills. Some programming is creeping in
Pay: $40-70k (This can get much bigger at the top tier orgs also)

Photo / Video /Interactive Graphics / Radio / Audio Producer or Videographer
Each discipline of producer can be specialized and offers a little extra kick for the focused skills. Generally $5,000-$10,000 more
Skills: Extensive focus in one multimedia format, while also an firm understanding of other skills
Pay: $35-57k

Home Page or Breaking News Producer
This is a critical role in the organization handling the ‘face’ of the online publication (although more and more traffic is coming through side doors, it’s still very important, especially among newsroom leaders who are still ingrained in thinking about the ‘A1 front page.’
Skills: Calm in hectic environment. Impeccable headline writing and copy editing. Basic HTML/CSS. Basic photo and multimedia skills.
Pay: $40-55k

Multimedia Editor
Managing multimedia projects from tech programming to production to delegating and managing a team.
Skills: High technical knowledge, diplomacy skills, innovative thinking
Pay: $50-70k

Media Editor
Fostering, developing and maintaining convergence relationships within the market.
Skills: Very diplomatic and engaged in different media outlets. Excellent networking skills. Tech and marketing knowledge is critical here.
Pay: $60-75k

Executive / Online / Web / Editorial / Content Manager or Director
These titles tend to be interchangeable at most organizations but they usually always signify the top tier of leadership in online editorial. You probably have to wear a tie if you have this title. (Although that trend is changing.)
Skills: Leading the web team, creative oversite and decision making, developing new initiatives, attending lots of meetings, wearing a tie
Pay: $65-$80k (Although I’ve seen as low as $40k and as high as $120k) Extra benefits, such as profit sharing tend to kick in here too.