Salary Cuts: The Least Unsavory Option

Yesterday, our company's board of directors announced they would be cutting salaries by 10 percent across the board, effective next month. The news was sad, but given the employee-generated speculations about possible bureau closings or layoffs, most of us were relieved to receive the cuts instead.

"Everybody still has a job," our managing editor said as a preface to the bad news.

As a small paper committed to hyper-local coverage (for us, this is not just a buzz word; it's what we do), we were disappointed that, along with countless papers and news publications across the country, we had lost enough advertising revenue to make such dramatic measures necessary. Because of the nature of our business, it can sometimes take a little longer for us to feel the impact of a recessed economy, but we finally did. Many business closings in the area have had a direct effect on our advertising sales, and as the remaining ones cinch their belts, so do we.

The news came as a blow to me, who as a fresh-out-of-college cub reporter has nearly every dollar budgeted for specific and necessary purposes. Reporters don't make that much. Cub reporters make less. Cub reporters in an ailing economy make even less.

That said, I applaud my company for choosing salary cuts rather than layoffs. It would be at best difficult to manage on a staff any smaller than the one we already have. Although everyone here is bummed about smaller paychecks, we still feel like a team who can and will pull through this tough time together, instead of a decimated staff whose members pick up the slack for those laid off and wonder, "am I next?"

Of all the options a company could choose to mitigate lost revenue, I think a salary cut is the least unsavory. After all, we could have each taken five weeks of furlough, or been out a job entirely.

Follow-Through on Developing Stories

In my 11 months here, perhaps one of the most valuable lessons I've learned is that of the importance to follow through on ongoing, developing stories.

Even in a small town, most events signify a series of smaller events leading up to them. For example, a community-wide Thanksgiving dinner is not just a dinner; it's supported by weeks and even months of planning, fundraising, advertising, organizing and volunteering. Each of those aspects can represent its own story -- or stories.

In my coverage area, the arrival of a new Veterans Administration community-based outpatient clinic was newsworthy enough to garner months of attention in the form of stories on the negotiating and construction processes. The day the clinic opened was only one news story among a long series of them leading up to its ribbon-cutting. Three reporters cycled through that beat between the planning stage and the clinic's completion, but we all recognized the imperative to continue covering its progress. And now I plan to follow up with more pieces outlining the impact it has on the veterans community, new employees and local area.

Another story on my beat that has required proactive and consistent follow-through has been the Tony Martin Jr. shooting, which occurred in October. Since then, I have written no fewer than 12 stories about the investigation process, public officials withholding documents pertaining to the case, attorneys' statements and plans, case filings and court hearings.

The benefit to following these stories through is not only that you as a reporter will produce more (and more interesting) copy, but that each story will be placed in a wide context, giving readers a deeper and broader perspective on their community and the persons in it.

Furthermore, this practice gives you an opportunity to develop a sweet rapport with your sources, who will begin calling you with new information before you have to ask.