Editorial salary survey: editors' salaries increase strongly

Compensation for the most seniorlevel magazine editors--editorial directors and editors in chief--increased by a healthy margin in 1994, resuming a pattern that was interrupted by last year's pedestrian level of salary increases. Editorial decision makers' average salary is $71,800 this year, which is up by 7.2 percent over 1993, according to FOLIO:'s salary survey.

The salaries of other editors surveyed revealed what could be interpreted as a pattern of market correction. Those in the number-two position in the editorial chain of command, the editors or executive editors, report that their salaries are increasing by 15 percent this year, to an average of $52,800. Senior editors and art directors report raises of 5 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively, percentages similar to what those folks got last year.

The managing editors, however, report a very different development. Last year, these editors averaged a raise of 5.1 percent, but this year, managing editors are experiencing meltdown, with pay declining by 6.4 percent, to an average of $44,000.

Also apparent in our survey is the extent to which pay is pegged to performance--and while additional performance is now required, additional pay does not always follow. Many editors confirmed anecdotally what industry observers have known for some time: that print publications are rapidly branching out into other media and are developing an array of supporting products around their magazines--and that editors are being asked to perform the extra work. "I've taken on promotion, personnel, new product development and editing: No compensation," writes one editorial director from the Northeast. "I feel as though I've contributed tremendously to the growth and quality of the company with no additional bonuses or raises in several years," the editorial director adds. "Am seeking other job."

Of course, not all editors feel overworked and underappreciated. Writes one editor in chief from the North Central region: "We are expanding operations into editorial partnerships in the United States and Europe--conference, videotape, perhaps television. I expect--with confidence--to be fairly paid for these efforts."

Methodology

FOLIO: mailed its 10th annual salary survey to 2,612 editorial and art direction professionals in two mailings in March and April 1994, of whom 843 responded. The overall response rate is 32.2 percent. Six hundred and seventy-nine respondents (26 percent) supplied sufficient information for tabulation.

Some respondents gave an expected salary range instead of exact figures. Here, the mean was used for tabulation. Exactly 50 percent of those who received the survey work on business magazines; 50 percent work for consumer titles. Thirty-five percent of the sample in each category work on magazines with circulations over 100,000. The results have been weighted to reflect the circulation percentages and the percentage of business and consumer magazine personnel who received the survey.

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

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR/EDITOR IN CHIEF

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR OR EDITOR IN CHIEF: Sets editorial policy. May hold other executive titles; may be in charge of other products and departments in addition to editorial. All editors report to this person.

Average Salaries ($000)

(Percent change from last year.)

Lowest salary reported for an editorial director/editor in chief: $10,000; highest salary: $400,000.

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Earnings ebb as age increases

SALARY BY AGE

              $82,644
40-49           $86,391
           $76,942
          $72,910
50 or     $74,682
more
         $71,268

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