"While we have also had departures over the past year, it has almost always been because those journalists were promoted within our company to other locations or landed promotions at other companies. We strongly disagree with its methodology and its findings," Terrell wrote. “The NewsGuild-CWA issued a misleading document based on outdated data alleging pay inequities on a small subset of Gannett’s more than 250 newsrooms. In an email, Chrissy Terrell, a spokesperson for Gannett, broadly dismissed the study's findings as "misleading" and stated the Republic is "more diverse today than any time in its history." She also cited recent diversity-minded initiatives, such as starting "newsroom discussions with Black and Latino audiences" to build "knowledge, trust, and empathy," as well as creating six new reporting and editing positions focused on "equity, solutions and underrepresented communities." Greg Burton did not respond to New Times' questions. Critics of management at the Republic also point to the fact that an estimated 16 of the 21 employees who left over the past year were women, people of color, or LGBT. Women make an estimated $30,000 less in median wages than men, while people of color earned roughly $25,000 less in median wages than white employees. The study, which used salary data that Gannett gave the union at its request, found that while the Republic was the most diverse newsroom in the analysis, it had the largest gender and racial pay disparities. Insiders said they think the boost was an attempt by the company to appease employees and nullify support for the union before the election.Ī recent pay-equity study of the Arizona Republic and 13 other Gannett newsrooms that was produced by the NewsGuild-CWA, the labor union that represents journalists at the paper, found stark pay disparities in gender and race. The minimum starting pay was raised to around $37,000 just before the union vote, when staffers were candidly sharing their salaries with one another. Before the employees at the Republic voted to unionize in 2019, the starting salary was around $33,000, according to current and former employees at the paper. Reporters at the Republic make less than industry standards in an industry that's notoriously low-paying. "It’s sort of a perfect storm of really difficult things to deal with, and people are just sort of at their end." I don’t feel like there’s really a feeling of authentic support and respect from management," said one current employee at the Arizona Republic, who declined to be named due to fear of retaliation. "The pressure to cover all of the things we can, on top of not feeling like you’re paid fairly, on top of dealing with certain management and leadership that doesn't act very supportive. Náñez, a 48-year-old reporter who left the paper by taking a buyout last December after working there since 2006. Náñez, who previously served as a board member for the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and worked on diversity and equity initiatives at Gannett, said Burton is creating "a toxic newsroom and a hostile work environment for too many people, particularly women, journalists of color and especially outspoken female journalists of color." The "management style" of Burton was a factor for many former journalists at the paper, according to Dianna M.
#The arizona republic hocus focus free#
Some employees have moved on to jobs at other media outlets, including top-tier publications: reporter Angel Mendoza is now a social media editor for the Washington Post, for example, and education reporter Lily Altavena went to the Detroit Free Press. Why others left the paper isn't as clear. Insiders cite factors such as low pay, burnout, a toxic work environment created by the paper's executive editor, Greg Burton, gender and race-based pay disparities, and management's allegedly superficial commitment to diversifying its staff and supporting women and people of color in the newsroom. The answer, according to some current and former staffers, is multi-faceted. Observers are left to wonder: Why are so many journalists jumping ship at a flagship newspaper in a major metropolitan area like Phoenix? García, an award-winning public safety reporter, walked away from the paper. Just this week, Maria Polletta, a veteran of the paper who most recently worked as a state government reporter, disclosed on Twitter that she is departing. And every passing week seems to bring a new, grim announcement on social media that another long-time journalist is leaving the paper. An estimated 21 employees left the paper between May 2020 and April 2021. Staff at the daily newspaper, the largest in Arizona, are quitting left and right. Things are not well at the Arizona Republic.
0 kommentar(er)
