Here is a Labor Day weekend project for your community radio station: help document pay equity in community media.
Nieman Lab predicted 2020 would be the year of radical salary transparency. That is, in part, because 2019 was a year of many wage reckonings. A public spreadsheet permitted media workers to anonymously report what they make, so as to compare with other organizations as well as peers internally. A for-profit media group settled a $2 million lawsuit alleging its use of salary history systematically discriminated against women.
Chances are you are not facing pressure on pay fairness at the moment. That does not mean your community radio station can’t work on equity and your mission. How can you ensure your community radio staff members are receiving fair wages? How can you compare what you’re paying against other stations? What is an appropriate baseline for community radio?
NFCB has heard from many stations that want to do the best they possibly can for current and prospective employees. Data on what constitutes an appropriate wage, however, can be hard to come by. Many of the media surveys are geared toward for-profit enterprises. Of the public media research, the scale of institutions can skew the results and put salaries out of the grasp of smaller organizations or rurally located radio.
NFCB is now doing an authentic salary and wage survey for community radio. We recognize industry “standards” don’t work well for your station because community radio has unique circumstances to consider, including local cost of living and other issues.
Our goal is to help your station as you hire positions and/or evaluate compensation at your stations. Your responses will benefit you and your colleagues in community radio.
Take the survey here: 2020 Community Radio Salary/Wage Survey
This survey takes about three minutes to complete. Your answers are confidential and only about your job. You will not be asked to fill in information about anyone else at your station. NFCB will collate the data and build a spreadsheet and make the results available to you in the Solution Center.
