journalists suffer, too!

[anghel]

do you know that journalists and other media employees are still suffering due to unpaid wages? I have a reporter friend who used to work at this daily broadsheet The Philippine Post, who until now has not received her damn salary. The Post closed down last November 1, I guess, leaving its poor employees hungry and angry. I think, the newspaper owed her some P14,000 to P15,000 salary. The dilemma started around May or april last year. unti-unti daw ang binibigay na sahod sa kanila, like for one pay period, they were just given a measly P2,500. But its ok and the owner promised them that they will be given their pay as soon as the new owner/investor comes in. come june, and they started to get P1,000 to P500 per pay period. but because they love their work and the owner's promises, they decided to hold on. until late october and nothing happened. the whole editorial staff decided to close down the paper. until now, this friend of mine has not received even a single penny from this company. denying the money that she already worked for.

but the irony is, during the time that employees of Post were suffering, its owner Benny Brizuela has purchased a brand new Starex, claiming that it was just a "swap" from his old car. He already received fluk from the National Press Club. Brizuela also operates a printing media called Book Media. What a shame to the publishing industry.

It doesn't matter how they will get the money or who are the other "co-owners" but would they pls. give these employees their salaries that they deserved, in fact, pinagtrabahuhan na nila iyon eh.

Then, tell me, where's the justice? Just asking.....

[lupuS]

With working conditions such as this, I am not surprised that many journalists sell their services to the highest bidder, without regard for truth, public service, or professional ethics.

I'm just wondering: how much salary should your reporter friend be paid so that he can do the work he loves, writing the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

[zimdude]

given the facts above I would think it's not journalism, just bad business. in any case in the long term there is a shift away from the capital-intensive aspects of the news, such as printing presses, and towards online news delivery and "print it yourself" for paper copies.

[anghel]

lupuS, reporters they say get in between P9,000 to P12,000 a month depending on the publication. It is a sad sick world of Philippine Newspaper business.

[lupuS]

Yes, that's what they get. It's obviously not enough, even if they got paid regularly. What I really want to know is, how much is enough for them so they wouldn't need to "prostitute" themselves.

[anghel]

sorry lupuS, i get it. i guess between P20 to P25K a month. That's why reporters have a lot of so-called rackets, left and right just to have enough money for their daily needs. If they will be given between that range, it will be enough I guess....

[zimdude]

I cannot pretend to be an economist, but it seems to be that journalism is a "for the love it" job, just like fiction writing or musicianship. As long as people are content to stay are that salary level then the status quo will remain.

Perhaps the industry itself cannot sustain itself on giving its knowledge workers higher? I do not know.

[lupuS]

I would like to know how well/badly business journalists get paid. It seems to me that business publications are relatively "bias free".

Here's a thought. anghel, how might your friend respond to the idea of a "fellowship" grant? Let's say we could get some benefactors to put some money together so that the awardee would receive P15,000 a month for two or three years. This amount would be in addition to any salary he gets from the newspaper. Would he then be in a position to work freely, in pursuit of the truth?

[anghel]

lupus, yeah i believe so. my friend has always been working for the truth. however, she is now working for a health and fitness magazine as a staffwriter. but until now, she has not collected even a single centavo from the Philippine Post.