The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1880-11-19
How Newspaper Writers Are Paid In
New York

NtW lOrA.
PHILADELPHIA Times.
l was SO fortunate yesterday as to run
across a Wheeling Sunday paper, in viii oh
was printed an exceedingly bright and chatty
New York letter. In it occurred the rollow-
ing cheerful revelation in respect OF the toll
ersbly reputable profession in which am an
humble worker:
A gentleman who left here last week to
take a good position on western paper as
sured me that he was driven from New York
because Of the impossibility OF making q
living by journalism. He WAS on the ststfof
one of the great dailies here. and was paiC
by the column. He is an excellent reporter,
a finished stenograpEer and good all-round
man of experience and capacity; yet his
earnings have not averaged $l2 per week and
the week before he left he had only earned
SIS. The staff of the paper was large one,
and the more scsnty when divided up, good
men having often to wait days for m assign
ment. The remuneration being So per col
umn, it will be seen that half column per
day would only yield bare liviI 6, and re-
porter who got n that much every day was
especially lucky.
Now, in all my experience never saw in
one small stickful Of matter SO ma y glazing
absurdilies 1t would appear that this rest
less "gentemSu" has three strings to hi pro
fessional bow. He can doordnary reporting
in excellent style, is a finished steRograph-
or" and good general worker besides
fear he is one Of those all sufficient, self.
sufficient, insufficient beings Nhois always
ready to do any thing" in Il newspaper Office,
in q lheater, or on the gran stage of life. A
man who is Observation-Disclosures rarely sue.
ceeds in any one of them. A man who is an
excellent reporter" eed not earn less than
$25 week in this city, ard he may run up
10 $50, SIS or even 500 | know that
regular salaried men average between $25
and $50 dollars per week on reputable and
established papers, If newspaper is On its
first or last legs 1t can't be expected to pay liv.
ing salari s, and there are several dsilies here
which are mortgsged to their eyebrows, and
are Of necessity forced to get their labor at
the lowest possible rates. They do this
even at the expense of an apparent endorse
ment of the Morey Chinese letter.
Many Of our best s,enographers are rich
men-as riches in Journalism go and have
ionorsnt writer's nm snch matters Onto a
number Of them find regular work IN orr
courts who're tbev esrr % 6O, a yaor nc a
certain salary and fr"m counsel wbn wish
evidence md rniincs writtan ont, ali the yyav
from $500 {, 81 600 per anpum. Ordinary
stenogrsphers have SO column, and IN
the hnsv season nil tbe work tbey csn with
their interrretinp assistsnts. sccomnli.b
Tgran, hat - man whn cam MA b,m.o,s
gener,llv useful in a newsnsner ,fI;na ia
Father AN II, known Quantity IN me,ronnhtsn
Journalism. where AS rule. each man II No
his specl6e place and il expected To I'm il,
The salary psia for work is often determine
by the man b,mself hut | do not he ieve il ia
ever determ ned by the mere vhim of the
proprietor. Proprietors of new pnncrs in
this mart of the ", rid are business men of
tact experience, capital aud brains. Luck
is a great factor, | admit, but how to utilize
hat ..