Summary of Compensation in the Publishing Field – 5th Edition, 2003

The composite highest-income practitioner in this field (salary plus cash bonus and/or cash profit sharing) is the salaried President of a publishing company. The company has 1,000 employees or more; grosses at least $100 million in annual sales; has under 10 titles; and is headquartered in or near New York City or Dayton. While the median President in this group has a total annual income of $225,000, the highest-income individuals reported in this group make over $450,000.

Toward the bottom of the income spectrum, Customer Service Representatives have a median income of $23,566. Sometimes earning under $20,000, the lowest-paid employees in this group work for a publishing firm that grosses under $10 million; has 50-99 titles; and is located in or near Boston, Los Angeles/Long Beach, or Phoenix, or outside the metropolitan areas studied in Oklahoma.

These composites represent the briefest possible “boil-down” of the voluminous data pro­vided regard­ing current salaries and cash bonuses and/or profit sharing, and numerous demographic vari­ables provided by 53 publishing companies. The end results of the survey appear in Compensation in the Publishing Field, 5th Edition – 2003, a 387-page statistical analysis of compensation for over 5,400 employees in 80 benchmark jobs, ranging from publishers to janitors. Copies of the report are available for $750.00 from Abbott, Langer & Associates, Inc., Dept. NR, 548 First St., Crete, IL 60417 (telephone 708/672-4200; fax 708/672-4674; www.abbott-langer.com).

It would be an exercise in futility to attempt more than a superficial overview of the survey results in this summary. However, some overall data regarding compensation can be presented here­in.

In addition to the incomes of the benchmark jobs already discussed, the median total cash com­pensation nationally of some of the other 78 benchmark jobs included in the survey report is:

Publishers – $164,762

Chief Corporate Financial Officers – $122,510

Directors of MIS/dp – $112,900

Chief Human Resources Executives – $105,102

Chief Marketing & Sales Executives – $92,772

Acquisitions Editors – $68,500

Art Directors – $60,033

Reporters/Correspondents – $52,764

Sales Representatives, Advertising – $49,133

Copy Editors – $48,748

Writers, Editorial – $44,774

Graphic Artists/Illustrators “A” – $44,108

Composing/Phototypesetting/Typesetting Operators – $43,991

Market Research Analysts – $39,471

Secretaries – $35,713

Production Editors – $35,055

Payroll Clerks – $34,487

Maintenance Carpenters – $32,934

Sales Representatives, Books – $27,587

Shipping and Receiving Clerks – $23,000

Receptionists – $22,500

Clerks – $20,886

Naturally, these nation-wide pay rates vary by region, state & metropolitan area, annual sales received by the firm, size of firm, type of product, and superviso­ry/managerial responsibility involved – all demographic variables for which data are provided in the complete report.

Overall Compensation

Overall, administrative and professional employees are paid best in the southern and north central states and least well in the southwestern and Rocky Mountain states. The Pacific, northeastern, and midwestern states fall somewhere in the middle.

For the sales/marketing group of employees, the highest pay is found in the southwestern and Pacific states, while the lowest is found in the north central and midwestern states, with the northeastern, Rocky Mountain, and southern states in between.

MIS/dp employees are paid best in the Pacific and northeastern states and least in the southwestern and north central states. The southern, Rocky Mountain, and midwestern states are in the middle range. For the financial group of employees, the highest pay is found in the southern and Pacific states, with the lowest pay coming in the southwestern and northeastern states, with the midwestern, Rocky Mountain, and north central states in the middle range.

Like the MIS/dp employees, clerical workers are paid best in the Pacific and northeastern states. However, they are paid the least in the midwestern and southwestern states. The southern, Rocky Mountain, and north central states fall in the middle range.

The maintenance & repair group of employees are also paid best in the Pacific and northeastern states. However, the lowest pay is found in the midwestern and Rocky Mountain states, with the southern and north central states in the middle range. For the editorial group of employees, the pay is highest in the Pacific and Rocky Mountain states, lowest in the north central and southern states, and in the midrange in the northeastern, midwestern, and southwestern states. Material acquisition/control/movement employees receive the best pay in the midwestern and southern states and the lowest in the southwestern and north central states, while the northeastern, Pacific, and Rocky Mountain states are in the middle.

Like the editorial group of employees, pay for the production group of employees is highest in the Pacific and Rocky Mountain states; however, it is lowest in the southern and north central states. For the creative group of employees, the Pacific, northeastern, and Rocky Mountain states pay best, while the southwestern, north central, and midwestern states pay worst. The southern states are in the middle range.

The best pay for circulation/fulfillment/renewal department employees is found in the Rocky Mountain and northeastern states; the worst pay is in the north central and southern states. The midwestern states are in the middle. Advertising/market research/sales promotion jobs receive the best pay in the northeastern and Pacific states and the lowest in the southern and north central states, with the midwestern and Rocky Mountain states in the middle.

Type of Publication

Publishing firms that produce two or more types of publications pay the highest for the administrative and professional and the MIS/dp groups of employees. However, magazine publishing firms pay the highest salaries for the most groups of employees: sales/marketing, clerical, maintenance & repair, editorial, advertising/market research/sales promotion, circulation/fulfillment/renewal, creative, and media/list.

For the financial and production groups of employees, the highest pay is found in firms that publish books; while, for the material acquisition/control/movement group, firms that publish newspapers pay the highest annual compensation.

Firms that publish two or more types of publications offer the lowest pay for the media/list, circulation/fulfillment/renewal, sales/marketing, and editorial group of employees. For creative, pro­duc­tion, MIS/dp, clerical, and maintenance & repair employees, the lowest pay is found in firms that publish newspapers. Material acquisition/control/movement and advertising/market research/sales pro­mo­tion groups of employees receive the lowest pay from firms that publish books; while the financial and administrative & professional groups of employees receive the lowest pay from firms that publish magazines.

Dr. Steven Langer, President

Abbott, Langer & Associates

548 First Street, Crete, IL 60417 708/672-4200 (M-F 9-4:30 Central Time) mailto:slanger@abbott-langer.com see http://www.abbott-langer.com/ for current salary and benefits data

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