Can you live in D.C. on this?

Wabberjocky · **Posted:** Sun Jan 06, 2008 1:49 am

The Washington Times seeks a copy editor:

Quote:

The Washington Times is seeking a full-time Copy Editor for its copy desk in its Washington, D.C., headquarters. The job requires fact checking; editing copy for spelling, grammar, punctuation and AP style; writing and editing headlines, cutlines, taglines and captions; proofreading; working the rim and/or slot positions. In addition, the job requires working evenings and weekends. Annual salary: $36,000-$39,000.

Rio · **Posted:** Sun Jan 06, 2008 12:27 pm

The answer to the topic question is: Only if you don't have a family and/or a life. And if you don't plan to eat all that much.

I've seen these Washington Times ads for several years now. I was stunned the first time I saw the pay scale, and it still vexes me. The Times can't legitimately claim to be a conservative alternative in the same league as the Post when the former gives its full-time staffers intern pay. Unfortunately, the Times hasn't figured that out, or doesn't care.

trimtofit · **Posted:** Sun Jan 06, 2008 2:30 pm

And the latter gives its interns Guild scale.

SusanV · **Posted:** Sun Jan 06, 2008 3:32 pm

Rio's got it right. The only way to live on that around here is as a single person with roommates, or with a spouse/SO who makes a lot more than that. It sure won't buy you a house anywhere even remotely convenient.

That is really a stunner. I had no idea the Times pays so poorly.

Wayne Countryman · **Posted:** Sun Jan 06, 2008 4:53 pm

Many, many editing jobs in Washington pay poorly, considering the cost of living in the area.

And people will take those jobs to be in the nation's capital. Or some other reason.

SusanV · **Posted:** Sun Jan 06, 2008 7:17 pm

Wayne Countryman wrote:

Many, many editing jobs in Washington pay poorly, considering the cost of living in the area.

And people will take those jobs to be in the nation's capital. Or some other reason.

True. The nonprofit sector comes to mind, but then again, that's a different kettle of fish.

Wabberjocky · **Posted:** Sun Jan 06, 2008 7:53 pm

Yeah, I hear D.C.'s cool, light, breezy summers make it all worth it.

Editer · **Posted:** Sun Jan 06, 2008 8:50 pm

And that unique combination of Southern efficiency and Northern charm.

Tim Lawson · **Posted:** Tue Jan 08, 2008 5:30 pm

I used to work at that paper, and I made less than that. I lived in a group house with about 4 billion people.

Le Petomane · **Posted:** Wed Jan 09, 2008 3:07 am

The Washington Times expects its copy editors to do fact checking?

When did that happen?

Editer · **Posted:** Wed Jan 09, 2008 11:32 am

They check for facts the way we check for errors.

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Wed Jan 09, 2008 5:23 pm

Let's not let our opinion of the Washington Times, whatever it may be, affect our opinion of its copy editors. I know from experience that many fine editors went through the Times before landing elsewhere, and for all I know there are many fine editors there now.

dmfugitive · **Posted:** Wed Jan 09, 2008 6:30 pm

And they're probably very hungry.

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Wed Jan 09, 2008 9:25 pm

I can report that every Washington Times copy editor I've ever talked with wanted nothing more or less than to get out.

jessica · **Posted:** Thu Jan 10, 2008 2:19 am

I'm living on a salary within that range in the D.C. area. You could conceivably do it, if you shared an apartment, lived frugally, didn't have a car, and chose either a land line or a cell phone but not both. However, having another (higher) income contributing to the household makes things much easier.

As for The Washington Times, I did a two-night, unpaid tryout there. The workflow could be intense (10-15 stories a night or more), but that wasn't the reason I decided not to stay. I didn't think I could survive a year or two adding some, um, unusual style into copy or leaving it untouched. A sample of WT style: same-sex marriage always has quotes around "marriage"; always use honorifics, including Mrs. or Miss for women, and only using Ms. if she specifically requests it; it's OK to use "illegals" in copy and heds.

Also, I got the feeling questioning copy too closely wasn't encouraged.

Then there was the sort of odd way it was assumed I would say yes to the job offer. Ultimately, I had a family emergency that prevented me from taking the offer, but they made the "offer" in such a way that had that not been the case, I don't know how I could have gracefully and easily declined.

Even though I decided instead to go to a smaller circulation paper, with a longer drive, and page-design duties in addition to copy editing, I think I'll be happier, both in the short and the long run.

However, I do know at least one copy editor who has been happy at the WT, so to each his own.

jjmoney62 · **Posted:** Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:09 am

jessica wrote:

... and chose either a land line or a cell phone but not both.

The gut-wrenching sacrifices Americans must make in extreme situations ...

Wayne Countryman · **Posted:** Thu Jan 10, 2008 11:38 am

jessica wrote:

...
Then there was the sort of odd way it was assumed I would say yes to the job offer. Ultimately, I had a family emergency that prevented me from taking the offer, but they made the "offer" in such a way that had that not been the case, I don't know how I could have gracefully and easily declined.

Sounds like a scene from "The Godfather." An offer you couldn't refuse?

Enough people who live and work in Washington have moved, without changing jobs, to less-expensive Baltimore to have an effect on Baltimore's housing market and on rail service between the cities.

Editer · **Posted:** Thu Jan 10, 2008 12:53 pm

Wayne Countryman wrote:

Enough people who live and work in Washington have moved, without changing jobs, to less-expensive Baltimore to have an effect on Baltimore's housing market and on rail service between the cities.

True. I worked with someone a while back who had lived in the DC suburbs and realized he could move to the Baltimore 'burbs and get a safer neighborhood for less money and only an incremental increase in his daily commute time.

Wabberjocky · **Posted:** Thu Jan 10, 2008 1:07 pm

Sounds like the same deal with the devil many people here make to live here and work in Seattle. To them, it's better to drive to the ferry terminal, pay for parking, take a one-hour ferry east, take a bus or a carpool van through crippling city traffic to work ... and do it all in reverse heading home.

texastaco · **Posted:** Wed Jan 23, 2008 12:15 pm

yeah. this ad is probably to replace me? and the salary definitely factored into my departure.

texastaco · **Posted:** Wed Jan 23, 2008 1:00 pm

ummmm, and since when are the baltimore suburbs safer than the dc suburbs? if you consider virginia as dc suburbs, that's about as family suburbia as you can get.

Editer · **Posted:** Wed Jan 23, 2008 1:41 pm

AJohnson wrote:

ummmm, and since when are the baltimore suburbs safer than the dc suburbs? if you consider virginia as dc suburbs, that's about as family suburbia as you can get.

This person already lived in the Maryland 'burbs and basically moved one county over, as I recall. I don't know if he looked at houses in NoVa as well, or if not, why not. It's been a number of years since we talked about it.

Testy Copy Editors

Can you live in D.C. on this?

Who is online

What They're Saying

Useful Links