How Long Does It Take A Nytimes Journalist For Example, To Write An Article?
I have been reading the NYTimes lately, and have been wondering how long it takes for them to write a single article. The articles look like they have been well-planned out, researched and have taken hours for them to “compose.” They use words that perfectly fit in their sentences, and write their articles in a way that they flow better than poems. It’s obvious to me that they easily stand out from CNN, Fox, MSNBC or any of the others. Do they hire “the best” journalists in the Country? Do they pay them more than anyone else?
In-depth articles at the Times could take weeks or months to completely report, but Times reporters still have to be able to write on deadline, composing stories in just a few hours or less. Part of that is accomplished by having whatever they know put together as the skeleton of the story before the final details emerge, but a lot of it is just being able to write great stories under pressure.
To get the best quality out of its deadline writers, the Times absolutely goes for the best and most experienced writers – it’s considered the best-written paper in the US for that reason. Salaries at the Times are among the best in the news industry; a reporter with two years of experience makes a minimum of $87,000 a year.
Also, take note of how many stories get double- and triple-bylined; the Times is a paper that’s not afraid to use team reporting to produce the best writing possible.