El Reg is looking for a new London sub-editor

The Register is looking for a new sub-editor to work in our London newsroom. The Register is the world's first technology tabloid and has been published exclusively online since before that was technically even possible. Our latest ABCe audit confirmed more than 9 million monthly unique browsers worldwide, including just about …

[Sir Runcible Spoon]

Sir

"Salary: Depending on experience, but in line with the world of journalism"

So, how do they compare? Not that I'm interested in the job, or even remotely qualified, just curious.

[knarf]

Re: Sir

Almost any salary in London is really not nearly enough to live on.

[Callam McMillan]

Re: Sir

I think you'll find that's code for "A bit rubbish"... Especially so if you work in Financial Services IT!

[Anonymous IV]

Re: Sir

Surely journalists are showered with the 'perks' not available to IT staff?

The free lunches from fruity firms for puffing their products?

Hardware and software on test which 'doesn't need to be returned'?

The unquestioning approbation of El Reg's intelligent and perceptive readers?

(Maybe I got the first part of the last perk slightly wrong...)

[Psyx]

Re: Sir

"Surely journalists are showered with the 'perks' not available to IT staff?"

Wow, I wish. I earned three times as much and got twice as many perks in IT than I've had as a writer!

And I've gone from dealing with people with limited social graces to outright butt-weasels!

[Trevor_Pott]

Re: Sir

Writing doesn't pay nearly as well as systems administration. From experience, however, there's less stress sin the writing. I'll take navigating PRs over troubleshooting printers any day of the week.

[I ain't Spartacus]

Re: Sir

I'll take navigating PRs over troubleshooting printers any day of the week.

Trevor,

Both are engineering problems, and can therefore be solved with the liberal application of a hammer.

[Psyx]

Re: Sir

"Writing doesn't pay nearly as well as systems administration. From experience, however, there's less stress in the writing. "

Oh, my day-job is much more enjoyable.

It's the abject poverty for the other 15 hours a day that's stressful!

"You've got the fringe benefit of working in what is probably the most sexist industry available."

Haha.

No.

Writers don't get the pretties and champagne. Other 'artists' are far 'sexier', and marketing bods get the expense accounts AND the salary.

[Evil Auditor]

Re: Sir

sexist != sexiest

;)

[Trevor_Pott]

Re: Sir

"Oh, my day-job is much more enjoyable.

It's the abject poverty for the other 15 hours a day that's stressful!"

Rule of acquisition number 125: You can't make a deal if you're dead.

The stress of the day job damned near killed me. Writing is a cathartic release.

[dotdavid]

Re: Sir

"Surely journalists are showered with the 'perks' not available to IT staff?"

You get a coveted "red vulture" forum badge, does that count?

[Sir Runcible Spoon]

Re: Sir

I wouldn't even shit the bed for that kind of money, let alone get out of it!

[Simon Harris]

Re: Sir

Do the perks include such things as bacon sarnie testing and those post-pub grub deathmatches?

That could be the clincher!

[Tim Worstal]

Re: Sir

Journalism pays rather less than most of the computer industry. Without going into details of what El Reg pays (I only know my freelance rate which is just fine, thank you) a reporter on a local paper might be on £20k a year, last I saw at the Guardian for a section editor (Fashion, Books, that sort of thing) was about £40k and a star columnist like Polly is on £110k or so. Moonbat is on perhaps £40k.

Mail pays more than the broadsheets.

But don't forget, all except that local paper stuff is London wages. Discount by 30% or more to get out of London wages.

[gazthejourno]

Re: Re: Sir

My first journalism job (in London) paid the grand sum of £18k equivalent, while my desk editor at that place was earning a whopping £22k. Starting salaries of £14k-£15k are fairly typical for trainee reporters on local papers.

Happily I can report El Reg is a darn sight more reasonable than that.

[Evil Auditor]

Re El Reg is a darn sight more reasonable

That may well be true. On average though, i.e. other outlets than El Reg, journos and other media workers aren't well paid. Why are there still so many going for it? You've got the fringe benefit of working in what is probably the most sexist industry available. Where else can you go unpunished being openly misogynic apart from politics and investment banking? Again, this of course doesn't apply to El Reg.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Sir

> Starting salaries of £14k-£15k are fairly typical for trainee reporters on local papers

And that totally shows on the quality of their reporting. :-(

Out of curiosity, any idea how much a London-based FT journo makes?

[Tim Worstal]

Re: Sir

FT Alphaville hired some people recently. £35 -£40k was the general impression I got of the offer.

Although you might have meant full time rather than Financial Times....

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Sir

> Although you might have meant full time rather than Financial Times....

No, I meant The Financial Times, sorry, that's why I try to avoid acronyms but that one slipped through.

Thank you for the info.

[Tim Jenkins]

Re: Sir

'Moonbat' lives in mid-Wales (I see him at our school gate every so often), so if he's getting paid at a London rate, he's doing OK ; )

[Nicholas Roberts]

Re: Sir

Journo salary includes a generous Scotch/Gin stipend.

[Anonymous Blowhard]

Re: Sir

I think it's a function rather than a variable; it means whichever is the lower I think.

[AndrueC]

So, just to be clear, are sarcasm and cynicism in or out?

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh sarcasm out. Definitely....

[Anonymous Coward]

Um..

Was that sarcastic?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Um..

The fact you felt the need to reply Anon is all the evidence you need to make up your own mind.

[Nick Ryan]

It should be noted that Register sub-editors are involved in managing interaction with our vast, knowledgeable but occasionally passionate readership: this is not a job for those with overly delicate sensibilities.

Oh dear. They will have been warned, but... get the asbestos underwear out anyway just in case.

[Anonymous Coward]

Abestos Underwear?

Ouch, you do know that asbestos underwear has been identified as the main cause of testicular cancer in IT journalism (the second most frequent cause of death in this noble profession after alcoholic overdose)

[Anonymous Coward]

> this is not a job for those with overly delicate sensibilities.

So would the chosen candidate not be allowed to pre-moderate his own articles in an Orlowskian kind of way, then?

[Dan 55]

Our latest ABCe audit confirmed more than 9 million monthly unique browsers worldwide

Aren't you lucky you've got a tech audience who use cookie/flash/script/ad blockers as a matter of course?

[Anonymous Coward]

BEEELLION

He must be able to spell "BEEELLION" correctly.

[Anonymous IV]

Re: BEEELLION

Conversely, any candidate who thinks this stupid and unnecessary neologism is appropriate should be hurled out of the door with great force.

[Jim 59]

Can I work from home ?

I'm kidding!

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Can I work from home ?

Of course you can. The first rule of sub-editing is that you end up living at your desk... So you will work from your new "home".... :-)

[Anonymous Coward]

Why does it *have* to be in London

A tech site that can't support remote working ? Isn't that a little like Apple workers having to listen to valve radios ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Why does it *have* to be in London

No, It's like apple using an IBM mainframe for its stock management and other ERP tasks..

Oh wait... that's what they do !

[John Smith 19]

Re: Why does it *have* to be in London

"No, It's like apple using an IBM mainframe for its stock management and other ERP tasks..

Oh wait... that's what they do !"

That's a lie.

iSeries are not mainframes.

[RainForestGuppy]

Re: Why does it *have* to be in London

Just do a bit of editing for you:

Isn't that a little like Foxconn slave labour having to listen to valve radios, working for a pittance whilst the organisations (both fruity and non-fruity) that engage with their masters, make $,000,000,000's in profits and keep banging on about how ethical they are.

[TeeCee]

Re: Why does it *have* to be in London

Apple workers do listen to valve radios.

An Apple radio is a featureless block of highly polished aluminium, surmounted with several visible valves, carefully chosen for their aesthetic appearance.

[Psyx]

Re: Why does it *have* to be in London

"An Apple radio is a featureless block of highly polished aluminium, surmounted with several visible valves, carefully chosen for their aesthetic appearance."

They can't patent that one*, due to plenty of prior art:

http://design-milk.com/skim-milk-hybrid-tube-amplifier-by-case-real/

*They'd still try.

[Schultz]

advanced mathematical knowledge

Come on, you don't need advanced mathematical knowledge to guesstimate swimming pools.

[ukgnome]

Not one mention of.....

1. cake

2. girls in inappropriate dress

3. occasional jaunts to very scary chemical plants

4. free coffee

Therefore, with regret I cannot join as your subby - also I have very little experience.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Not one mention of.....

"2. girls in inappropriate dress"

You mean like wearing suits of armour to an office job? Why can't blokes do that? How sexist of you...

[Jim 59]

Let me sub-edit that for you

...our world-beating coverage of ray-guns, atom smashers, killer robots, selected celebrities, zeppelins, Rockall, space oddities and garden-shed engineering breakthroughs

[Evil Auditor]

"9 million monthly unique browsers"

Finally someone's reporting correctly!

p.s. I'd be very interested in the job. Problem is my English sucks, can't read and what's media law? But sheer incompetence is a rare reason for not getting a job, at least around here. So, what's the pay?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: "9 million monthly unique browsers"

> and what's media law?

Ever heard of the Old Wild West?

> But sheer incompetence is a rare reason for not getting a job, at least around here.

We work in the same industry!!! :-)

[Spiracle]

Top-flight tech tab flagship in babel-blabbing self-supporting sub search

Do I get the job?

[Studley]

Re: Top-flight tech tab flagship in babel-blabbing self-supporting sub search

Needs more arbitrary CAPITALS

[MiguelC]

Re: Top-flight tech tab flagship in babel-blabbing self-supporting sub search

That would be TechCrunch

[Milen]

"...affinity for the noble art of tabloid-style headline writing"

For a moment I thought I was reading something written by Dabbsy. This felt very suitable since this week ends a bit early at my office due to Friday being July 4.

Paris, because she also has an affinity for the noble art of tabloid-style headline writing.

[Stuart 39]

Where is the bit about fighting off black helicopters

Given that El Reg is now the top destination for spook related secret spilling, fighting off helicopters and resistance to forced rendition may also be required.

[dotdavid]

Re: Where is the bit about fighting off black helicopters

What do you think happened to the last sub-editor?

[Nick Ryan]

Re: Where is the bit about fighting off black helicopters

Nothing whatsoever, move along now.

[Androgynous Cupboard]

You definitely need a sub

There's a glaring error:

"... knowledgeable but occasionally passionate readership"

occasionally is qualifying the wrong adjective.

[Fink-Nottle]

Etymology

A knowledge of insects always comes in handy ...

[southpacificpom]

OMG!

The work is based in our Clerkenwell offices. Be aware that you'll be selecting and maintaining your own office hardware: if you need tech support to use a computer and keep it functional this is not the job for you.

So you actually need to know something about how computers operate. How novel...

[tony2heads]

sitpub

I like the email address. It suggests a good place for journalists to work

[itzman]

The officeless paper?

Clerkenwell offices? what ever happened to the Internet...

[Anonymous Coward]

Nominating...

Matt Bryant. He already knows everything.

[Nick Ryan]

Re: Nominating...

Yes but unlike SuperJake, he hasn't don't everything. By hand. Twice.