Deciding who gets paid and how much is one of the most important management decisions you will make as editor. Smart leaders put their resources where they are most likely to get the results that will achieve their goals. Almost everyone who starts at The Daily begins as an unpaid intern.
SETTING PAYROLL: At the start of each semester, the director of Student Media goes over the department budget and determines how much newsroom payroll the department can afford. Generally, the amount remains the same in the fall and spring semesters. The editor-in-chief, with guidance from the adviser, then decides how the available dollars should be allocated to best meet the newsroom’s goals. Here’s our newsroom budget document tracking positions and pay by semester and week over the past several years. It is imperative you make clear whether positions are paid or unpaid – as well as how many hours are routinely budgeted for a position – with no ambiguity.
LOGGING TIME: No employee in a paid position will be paid without turning in their timecard every two weeks at time.ou.edu. New employees must be instructed by their editor how to fill out and turn in time. Time is due by noon every other Monday for work performed in the prior two weeks. Employees in paid positions should log the hours they work, and those hours should generally align with the hours allotted for that position in payroll, as outlined by editors when the employee started. The adviser will review, log vs. our budget document and approve all time. The adviser may not alter any time card, but can flag any anomalies in submitted time for the editor-in-chief’s review and discussion with desk editors and, if necessary, the staffer. There is a two-week lag time between the end of a pay period and the issuance of a check. OU’s Human Resources site has a complete payroll schedule and further details.