Comparing notes

For all of the time I worked at the Flint Journal the one major secret was how much each reporter and editor made. At no time was a list published with the starting salary, step increases or top salary for reporter or editor.

In the coming weeks I plan to delve a little into this, but need the help of some of my former colleagues, both those who left with the buyout and those who remain.

For those who remain, DO NOT do this from work. If you send me information, please do it from home. I do not want to be responsible for any adverse reaction from the bosses there.

For those of us who have left I think it might be instructive to the new employees what the pay scale used to be like. For those who are still there it might be helpful to know what the new pay and benefit scale is among your current colleagues.

I'll get things started. When I joined the Flint Journal in June 1989, I was offered a salary of $610 a week, plus fully paid medical and dental benefits.

When I left with the buyout in December I was making a base salary of $1,052 a week and still had my fully paid health, dental and vision benefits. We also had the option of contributing to a 401k plan (and I'm sure employees there still do). The company matched that contribution up to 2 percent (relatively low by corporate standards, but nice nonetheless). For the first five years I had two weeks paid vacation (It may have gone to three weeks after 2-3 years), but then jumped to four weeks paid vacation a year. Plus we received an annual 53rd week paycheck, which was basically a bonus. In my best year I made nearly $60,000 working a lot of overtime and holidays.

For the first 15 years I worked there, overtime was liberally offered, but became more difficult in the early 2000s and impossible by 2006, except when they were desperate to fill a holiday or sick employee's shift.

Mileage reimbursement was a joke and always well below the federal suggested amount. When many companies and governments were paying 50 cents a mile, the Journal was still pay 34 cents a mile. Shameful. I wore out five cars working for three newspapers and finally just considered it a part of the cost of doing what I loved.

So here's the deal. Send me (anonymously, but with some clue that you actually work or did work there) a comment by clicking on the comment button on this entry. I will NOT publish (unless you indicate that it's OK) the specific comments but will compile then into a chart (something the editors at the Flint Journal love) of what the past and current pay scale is and was. Also let me know what the current benefits are so we can compare those also.

When I get them all together I will publish the whole list here. If I don't get a good response, I'll just make it up. Just kidding. Editors are welcome to join in as well. Wouldn't we love to know what those guys make for holding endless meetings and making other people work?