This week, as our community reflects on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., we are reminded of his tireless advocacy for fairness, equality, and opportunity for all. Among his many contributions to the civil rights movement, Dr. King was a staunch advocate for economic justice. He understood that the fight for civil rights extended beyond the ballot box and into the workplace, where fair employment and a living wage are fundamental to human dignity and a just society.
Dr. King’s work, including his leadership in campaigns like the Memphis sanitation workers’ strike, underscored the urgent need for fairness in employment. His message was clear: a society that values equality must also value the labor of every individual and ensure that workers can support themselves and their families. This vision continues to inspire us today.
At La Conner Community News, we hold these values close to heart. We believe in creating an enduring public good through journalism that informs, empowers, and unites our community. Our commitment to paying a living wage to our employees reflects our strong belief that the people behind our work deserve to thrive as they serve the La Conner, Swinomish, and surrounding communities.
A living wage is the minimum hourly pay needed for a full-time worker to cover essential expenses like food, housing, and healthcare. It aims to ensure a decent standard of living without relying on government support. In Skagit County, that works out to an annual salary of about $47,465 for a household with one working adult and no children.
Journalism rarely pays a living wage to its working reporters and photographers. Indeed.com reports that the starting base salary for a journalist in Washington state is $19,542. Ziprecruiter puts the average salary for a journalist in Washington state at $69,065, which is higher that the Skagit County living wage, but about 60% less than the national average (this figure includes seasoned journalists).
There is no precedent for paying a living wage for journalism in La Conner. Previous newspaper publishers kept costs down by paying mostly freelance rates—which they kept very low—or paid barely more than the starting base salary. Staci and I are finding that in the best of cases, these extremely low wages meant people cared more about doing the work than being paid for it, which is a choice they shouldn’t have to make. In many cases, it caused resentment and embarrassment for the journalists. In the worst cases, the low rates either convinced people not to contribute or resigned them to live in poverty.
When Staci and I decided on the wage structure for the La Conner Community News, we decided to take the advice of Washington State University’s journalism department and set our target for pay at a flat $55,000 for all full-time employees. WSU recommended this figure as a fair rate for starting journalists, many of whom need to make enough money to pay some student loans as well as pay for their basic needs.
Speaking of fairness, we set the same rate for everyone on staff to recognize and honor that every person in a small community newsroom makes unique contributions. I might be the publisher and responsible for everything from accuracy to advertising, but my contributions are no more valuable than those of Bill Reynolds, our journeyman reporter on staff who fills the paper with his stories. Our work is just different, but that doesn’t make one person’s contribution more important than anyone else’s. As such, our pay will be the same hourly rate.
Staci and I are not done setting policy around living wages. Now that we have settled on this number, our next challenge is to settle on a fee structure for freelance contributors. We’re presently polling our peers across the country to determine a fair number for photograph and article contributions. Once we come to a number, we will share it with the public. We believe in transparency with all of our decisions because, after all, this newspaper is your newspaper, the community of La Conner.
As a trusted and inclusive platform, we strive to ensure that every voice in our diverse community is heard and respected. This commitment is our way of honoring Dr. King’s vision—a vision of a society where fairness is not just an ideal but a reality embedded in every institution.
As we commemorate MLK Day, let us all renew our dedication to the principles he championed. Together, we can build a community that uplifts every individual, celebrates diversity, and fosters opportunity for all. In the spirit of Dr. King, let us work toward a future defined by equity, inclusion, and shared prosperity.
