This week’s edition of our Off Records column on happenings in the media industry focuses on The Nation and BUSINESS DAY.
Salary increase at The Nation
One of the reasons given by the management of Vintage Press, publishers of The Nation Newspapers for downsizing its staff strength following the impact of the COVID-19 on the company like many other media organisations was that it needed to pay staff better than they were earning.
Having laid off some of its staff last year, the company has made good its promise to review staff salaries.
We learnt that the graduated salary increase now enjoyed by the staff is between 20-50 per cent with the junior staff getting a higher percentage. It is said to be a case of the lower you earn, the higher the increase you get.
The entry point for new graduate employees which used to be about N57,000 is said to be now about N88,000.
Promotions are also being expected by staff who have served the company for long.
Kudos to the company.
READ ALSO: POINTS TO PONDER FOR JOURNALISTS, MEDIA ORGANISATIONS
Mass layoff, restructuring at BusinessDay
For some staff of BusinessDay Newspaper, the greetings of Happy New Year they received in January might not have lasted as long as they would have wanted.
Although the media company, has been hit by the impact of the Coronavirus like others in the sector, many staff did not see the recent mass layoff coming or expect to be affected.
After a series of management and editorial meetings, about 51 staff, both full and freelance staff were reported to have been sacked in one fell swoop that sent shock waves across the company.
Retained staff claim they now have to do more than they were doing despite the fact that before the recent sack, many desks and beats were understaffed.
“Some of those sacked included those who have served the company for years and it’s sad they have to be laid off just like that. I don’t know how we will be able to cover some beats now,” a staff not affected by lay off told MCDN.
As part of the cost-cutting measures of the company, the Sunday edition of the paper is no longer printed and is now only available electronically.
A management staff of the company who preferred anonymity while explaining the circumstance that led to the recent layoff said ” BusinessDay has a professional management, a credible board in place and is arguably one the best-managed company in the country.”
BusinessDay according to the manager does not have a money bag or politician behind it, “so it’s decisions are well reasoned and at all times are driven by the desire to build a sustainable business.”
” Don’t forget we come from a private equity background. Yes, some of our staff were let go, painfully, but it is about changing our cost structure, allowing us to spend more on those who represent the future of our business. So as we speak, we are hiring staff still and some staff have had salary raise as we inject people with requisite skill amidst the digital migration that we are seeing.
” It is also important to note that the beginning pay for fresh graduates post-internship is N100,000 monthly and as of today BusinessDay owes no staff salaries. The media is gripped by a digital-first imperative and as a responsible media business, we have to be well prepared for the challenges that digitalisation imposes,” he stated.
The media is going through stress financially because managements of media houses are now hobnobbing with those they are supposed to report their excesses.
The media
This is a sad development especially at this time where the economy is not smiling at many. I wonder if the management prepared the ‘unlucky’ ones (with perhaps entrepreneurial trainings) on how they can live outside of their 9-5.