Salaries and workloads increasing for circulators - Folio:'s 1994 Circulation Salary Survey

Salaries for circulation executives increased at a solid, sustained pace for the second year in a row in 1994, with both circulation directors and managers doing better than 6 percent on average. Nonetheless, circulators report that workloads are increasing more rapidly than pay, making raises seem, at times, inadequate. "In circulation, the responsibility always increases while the pay alway stays the same," writes a vice president of circulation from a trade magazine in Illinois.

In case after case, and for a slew of reasons--downsizing, for example, or obtaining an audit, or gaining additional titles, or taking newsstand distribution in-house--this year's respondents say they're doing more but not being compensated equitably. "In 1992, they eliminated the circ-director position and put the director of production over circ as well," writes a circulation manager at a trade title in Minnesota. "She isn't a working circulation person, so I've taken on the daily work of the circ director without the title or pay."

Circulation directors saw major increases in bonuses (which are sizable to begin with), another indication that the industry is moving toward rewarding performance based on specific goals. Overall, circulation directors' bonuses increased by 22.1 percent, from $6,255 to $7,642.

Their base salaries went up, too, but much less spectacularly. On the consumer side, salaries for circulation directors increased by 9.1 percent, from $45,470 to $49,600. Trademagazine circulation directors had smaller pay increases, but still make more, on average--they went from $48,876 last year to $50,600 in 1994, a 3.5 percent increase.

Circulation managers--generally the number-two people in the department--enjoyed more consistent pay increases, with those on the consumer-magazine side going from an average of $31,968 in 1993 to $33,800 this year, for an average increase of about 5.7 percent. Their trade-side counterparts enjoyed an increase averaging 6.7 percent, from $31,776 to $33,900. Bonuses for the circulation managers were more erratic. Consumer-magazine circulation managers saw their average bonuses decline by 42.2 percent. Trade-side circulation managers reported an increase in their average bonuses, but only from a modest base.

METHODOLOGY

FOLIO: mailed its 10th annual circulation salary survey to 942 circulation professionals in two mailings, July and August. Three hundred thirty-one circulation professionals responded, yielding an overall response rate of 35.1 percent. Of all the questionnaires received, 293 contained sufficient information for tabulation. Some respondents gave expected salary and bonus ranges. In these instances, the mean was used for tabulation. Half of those in each group work for consumer magazines, the other half work for trade titles. Overall, 35 percent of the sample in each category work on magazines with circulations of 100,000 or more. The remainder work for magazines with smaller circulations.

Survey results were tabulated by Accu-Tab, Inc., Bayside, New York.

CIRCULATION DIRECTOR

CIRCULATION DIRECTOR OR TOP CIRCULATION EXECUTIVE: Plans, directs and coordinates circulation-marketing efforts. Directly responsible for budgeting and analyses of single-copy sales and all subscription programs, list rentals and database planning and maintenance.

Typically, the greater the frequency, the higher the pay. But our survey shows this is not necessarily true for circulation directors who work on monthly titles. Their colleagues on less-frequent magazines earn close to the same amount.

Circulation directors who work on more than one magazine report that they make more money than those who work on just one. This bucks a trend in magazine-industry salaries--even in circulation pay as recently as last year. Our data also show that it pays to work on an audited title, and it pays a lot to work on one with an ABC audit. Directors who work on audited titles earn on average $15,000 to $20,000 more than their counterparts on unaudited magazines.

                                              Average     Average
                                    Average   Business   Consumer
BY AGE
Up to 29                            $34,252   $33,166     $35,348
30-39                                49,321    50,147      48,608
40-49                                57,252    55,738      58,626
50 or more                           51,789    56,909      44,869
RESPONSIBLE FOR
One magazine                        $43,377   $46,342     $41,735
More than one magazine               52,987    51,767      54,446
BY NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES SUPERVISED
None/one                            $35,311   $37,611     $33,717
2-4                                  50,173    48,184      52,086
More than 4                          76,355    68,892      88,709
BY CIRCULATION
Up to 19,999                        $30,794   $35,677     $24,714
20,000-49,999                        41,024    42,003      39,375
50,000-99,999                        42,457    50,233      39,069
100,000-499,999                      61,100    62,142      59,308
500,000 or more                      82,074       (*)      84,656
BY FREQUENCY
Weekly/biweekly                     $58,147   $57,361     $59,544
Monthly                              48,822    47,498      50,137
Other                                45,472    49,533      43,617
BY CIRCULATION TYPE
Paid                                $51,830   $53,084     $51,360
Unpaid                               47,869    49,464      39,880
AUDITED BY
ABC                                 $59,689   $59,433     $59,791
BPA                                  49,607    48,045      58,427
Both/other                              (*)       (*)         (*)
None                                 34,273       (*)      31,822

(*)Not enough information supplied to report results.

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

SALARY BY FREQUENCY

$58,147

Weekly/

biweekly $57,361

$59,544

$48,822

Monthly $47,498

$50,137

$45,472

Other $49,533

$43,617

[CHART OMITTED]

CIRCULATION MANAGER

CIRCULATION MANAGER: Generally the second level of management in the circulation department. Administers circulation programs for subscriptions and single-copy sales. Handles all facets of circulation for one or more titles.

For circulation managers, the big jump in pay comes when they work for a magazine with a circulation of more than 100,000.

Circulation managers over 50 years old report earnings significantly less than their younger counterparts, a pattern not present in last year's survey. However, consistent with last year's results is that those on controlled-circulation titles make less than those on paid titles.

                                              Average     Average
                                    Average   Business   Consumer
BY AGE
Up to 29                            $31,139   $30,890     $31,346
30-39                                33,432    33,065      33,807
40-49                                36,053    36,299      35,800
50 or more                           34,684    35,320         (*)
RESPONSIBLE FOR
One magazine                        $30,544   $31,235     $29,931
More than one magazine               35,981    35,139      37,125
BY NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES SUPERVISED
None/one                            $31,575   $32,645     $30,228
2-4                                  35,107    29,607      38,297
More than 4                             (*)       (*)         (*)
BY CIRCULATION
Up to 19,999                        $26,782   $27,728         (*)
20,000-49,999                        30,592    33,083     $27,697
50,000-99,999                        31,456    29,191      32,773
100,000-499,999                      42,423    43,500      40,446
500,000 or more                         (*)       (*)         (*)
BY FREQUENCY
Weekly/biweekly                     $37,306   $42,902         (*)
Monthly                              33,502    30,915      37,651
Other                                32,447    33,455      31,882
BY CIRCULATION TYPE
Paid                                $34,598   $36,080    $33,955
Nonpaid                              32,408    32,592         (*)
AUDITED BY
ABC                                 $38,594       (*)     $37,600
BPA                                  34,812   $34,235         (*)
ABC and BPA/Other                    25,941       (*)         (*)
None                                 31,224    30,686      31,695

(*)Not enough information supplied to report results.

Six-figure differential

SALARY BY CIRCULATION

$31,456

50,000-

99,999 $29,191

$32,773

$42,423

100,000-

499,999 $43,500

$40,446

[CHART OMITTED]

Pay goes north, in Northeast

SALARIES BY GEOGRAPHIC REGION

As with every other job discipline in the magazine industry, the highest salaries in circulation are to be found in the Northeast.

More experience equals more pay

SALARIES BY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

                                            Average    Average
                                Average    Business   Consumer
CIRCULATION DIRECTOR
By years in circulation
Up to three years                $39,580       (*)      $31,820
Four to 10 years                  43,334   $41,354       44,750
11 or more years                  62,573    60,295       65,842
By years with present company
Up to three years                $47,923   $48,453      $47,414
Four to 10 years                  50,262    52,970       48,227
11 or more years                  54,070    50,457       60,205
By years in current job
1                                $52,669   $55,754      $50,828
2                                 46,724    46,238       47,124
3                                 53,939    47,330       58,989
4                                 45,941    56,058          (*)
5                                 57,255    57,613       56,927
6-7                               50,013    50,935       49,192
More than 7                       44,709    48,130       38,640
CIRCULATION MANAGER
By years in circulation
Up to three years                $27,796       (*)      $25,604
Four to 10 years                  32,869    $31,961      33,997
11 or more years                  40,438   38,839        42,763
By years with present company
Up to three years                $33,991   $36,974      $32,707
Four to 10 years                  32,310    32,405       32,145
11 or more years                  37,279    35,579       39,685
By years in current job
1                                $33,483       (*)      $31,473
2                                 31,163   $31,476          (*)
3                                 31,722       (*)          (*)
4                                    (*)       (*)          (*)
5                                 37,230    36,902          (*)
6-7                                  (*)       (*)          (*)
More than 7                       35,117    32,714       38,844

(*)Not enough information supplied to report results.

As in 1993, the general pattern in circulation salaries is that pay increases with experience. And as in last year, the one exception is that those who have been in their jobs only one year make more than those who stay in one place longer. The upshot? Job-hopping pays off.

                                   Average     Average
                        Average    Business   Consumer
CIRCULATION DIRECTOR
Northeast                $63,522   $60,153     $67,395
South                     41,930    45,971      37,589
North central             44,363    45,788      42,297
West                      46,771    46,247     46,956
CIRCULATION MANAGER
Northeast                $39,222   $39,630     $38,746
South                     29,464    29,511      29,419
North central             28,774    29,412      27,659
West                      35,734       (*)      36,003

(*)Not enough information supplied to report results.

No news: Salaries lag for female circulators

AVERAGE SALARIES BY GENDER

                        Males       Females
CIRCULATION DIRECTOR
Average                  $60,785    $44,829
Average business          60,889     45,778
Average consumer          60,692     43,894
CIRCULATION MANAGER
Average                  $36,420    $33,213
Average business          36,326     33,396
Average consumer          36,500     32,995

The pay gap between male circulation directors and their female counterparts is much larger than for circulation managers. In fact, for circulation managers, the gap has narrowed slightly from last year's results, while it has widened for directors.

[CHART OMITTED]

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