I work as a mid-level editor (I'm essentially fourth in command of the
newsroom) at a newspaper in a West Virginia city with about 35,000
people. The newspaper's circulation is about 40,000. I have a
bachelor's degree in English and four years experience as an editor,
all four of which have been spent at this newspaper. During this time,
I've earned three merit-based promotions. My current salary is $27,000
per year, which I feel is low. However, since I don't know what kind
of salary is typical for experienced editors in West Virginia, I've
avoided raising a fuss. Am I being paid fairly, taking into
consideration the area I live in? How can I find accurate salaries of
newspaper employees in West Virginia, short of actually calling people
up and asking personal questions?

Dear riviera-ga;

Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question.

I’m pretty sure this tool will provide you with what you are looking
for. It is a very simple, yet comprehensive tool for determining
relative income according to occupation and geographical location. If
you are curious as to how they get their information, read their
methodology page. I’m sure you will be impressed. I tested the tool
several times and found the information pretty reliable when checking
my own profession in my own geographical area:

SALARY.COM
http://www.salary.com/salary/layoutscripts/sall_display.asp

SALARY.COM – METHODOLOGY
http://www.salary.com/aboutus/layoutscripts/abtl_display.asp?tab=abt&cat=nocat&ser=Ser34&part=Par74

There are a number of these devices on the Internet and almost all of
them use the same sources from which they calculate salary based on
input. Others are TOTALJOBS.COM and, WORKTHING.COM but there are more
of them out there. You are likely to get the same results from most of
them. This one however offers common bonus projections, common benefit
projections and comparisons against other positions in your field.
You’ll find the easy to read graphs a welcomed sight too.

Below you will find that I have carefully defined my search strategy
for you in the event that you need to search for more information. By
following the same type of searches that I did you may be able to
enhance the research I have provided even further. I hope you find
that that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any
questions about my research please post a clarification request prior
to rating the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating and your final
comments and I look forward to working with you again in the near
future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga


INFORMATION SOURCES

SALARY.COM
http://www.salary.com/salary/layoutscripts/sall_display.asp

TOTALJOBS.COM
http://www.totaljobs.com/salary_checker/salary_checker.asp

WORKTHING.COM
http://www.workthing.com/sc/servlet/SalarySurveyInput

SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINE USED:

Google ://www.google.com


SEARCH TERMS USED:

SALARY CHECKER

SALARY ASSESSMENT

SALARY WIZARD

Here's an article that may be of interest:

http://www.mcom.ttu.edu/mc5378/sstewart/scoop.html

Note this: "The second lowest journalism salaries in the United States
are found in West Virginia, where journalists earn an average $18,918
a year."