This story appeared in the Substack column, “Inside the News in Colorado” by Corey Hutchins, on October 31. Subscribe to his column here.
Each fall, this newsletter reports on the pay landscape in Colorado journalism.
We’re luckier than most on this front because of a 2021 state transparency law that requires Colorado employers to publish salary ranges with their job postings.
“If we’re talking about a journalist in Colorado who could be employed by a Colorado publication or a national publication, the pay has to be posted for a job in Colorado,” said Scott Moss, who was then the director of Colorado’s Division of Labor Standards, at the time.
Back then, the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act was relatively new, and not every newsroom was saying what they were willing to pay journalists — despite the possibility of a $10,000 fine per posting and additional financial penalties if a company doesn’t shape up. (The state agency in charge of enforcing the new law was working with companies as employers adjusted to the new regulations.)
By now, employers should know the rules, and it has become custom on social media for those who see Colorado newsroom job listings that don’t include a pay scale to publicly call it out.
Since Colorado is a relatively rare state where newsrooms must publicly say what they’re willing to pay, it might be useful for those in other states if they want to know what’s what out here — with all the relevant caveats.
Below is an idea of Colorado newsroom wage offerings based on job listings from the site JournalismJobs, Andrew Hudson’s Jobs List, Indeed, or elsewhere within the past month or so.
I’ve ranked them from the highest-paying to the lowest, starting with editor and anchor positions and followed by reporting jobs.
Colorado Public Radio is hiring a morning editor and will pay $64,200 to $85,500.
KRDO, run by Pikes Peak Television Inc in the Springs, will pay a weather anchor $70,000 for the weekday newscasts.
Rocky Mountain PBS wants to fill a position for a multimedia journalist and will pay $60,000 to $67,000 per year to work along the I-70 corridor and high country area.
Last week’s newsletter drew attention to an off-the-wall job listing for a “solo-operator position” of general manager, editor, and sales consultant at the hedge-fund-owned Estes Park Trail-Gazette newspaper. Here’s the $62,000 a year (plus possible bonuses) listing in its raw form.
The Scripps-owned Denver7 TV station listed an MMJ position at $39.66 to $42.31 an hour, a digital content producer at $28 to $31.47, and an editor position at $22.12 to $30.
An MMJ could earn $19 to $23 an hour at the Gray-owned TV news station KKTV in the Springs.
Beacon Senior News, a magazine that focuses on people experiencing advanced age in Colorado Springs, was willing to pay a content and engagement editor $18 to $22 an hour.
The hedge-fund-owned Cañon City Daily Record is looking for an experienced journalist to serve as the newspaper’s assistant editor, who it will pay $16.83 to $18.27 an hour.
Job postings for journalism jobs across the state seemed noticeably sparse this fall compared to previous years.
This newsletter is proudly sponsored by The Colorado Health Foundation. As a proud funder of Colorado Media Project, the home of Press Forward Colorado, the CHF understands that healthy communities need a healthy news ecosystem.
Corey Hutchins is co-director of Colorado College’s Journalism Institute, reports on the U.S. local media scene for Columbia Journalism Review, and is a journalist for multiple news outlets. Subscribe to his Inside the News newsletter, here.