Decision:
Having paid staff means that countless little things at the Media Co-op get done. Web pages are updated, spam is sifted and deleted, events are attended, books are kept, accounts are balanced, emails are responded to, volunteers are coordinated, a print publication is produced, subscriptions are managed and members are communicated with. Having part-time editors maintains a level of quality and style in the articles published in the Dominion. Editors help less experienced writers improve their work and access a larger audience. (Currently, Media Co-op paid staff are based in Montreal and Halifax.)
(31 votes)
Comments
Pay the locals
The locals Media Co-op's are growing at a fast pace and net traffic to the .mediacoop.ca's has outpaced that of the Dominion. One paid possition (part or full time) for all of the MC locals is essential to the success of the network. This person will botom line day to day operations, overlook the local website and provide guidance and support to the growing membership.
I agree with Frank
In sum: Cut the Dominion, Cut central staff hours, Spread the love to Locals
staff are the foundation, the keystone
An organisation like Dominion would founder without staff who maintain the database of members, do the books, apply for funding, coordinate volunteers, encourage libraries to subscribe and millions of other little tasks....
While I think contributors should also be paid and ultimately well, I think staff are a higher priority as it is possible to find volunteer contributors but volunteer staff who do all the gritty work for no pay are few and far between and worth their weight in gold.
Cut the Dominion, Cut staff hours
Hi again, I think that the media co-op should drop the Dominion, and reduce staff hours that were used to produce it (this is a substantial amount). Then staff can be better paid for less hours, but over all i do think that spending on staff should be reduced.
Staff are the backbone of the
Staff are the backbone of the Media Co-op, holding the project together and doing the background work. If we lose the staff, we lose the Dominion. Staff need to be paid a living wage, and we need staff in each local.
Alternative funding
While not yet within reach, full-time staff is a highly desirable goal. The creation of a media foundation, one that would provide direct support to The Dominion through fundraising and awareness - much like hospital foundations - while remaining a separate entity may be something to consider.
Current pay scale
I think that the current pay scale is untenable in the long term. That said, it's really easy for wage increases to eat up any new revenue and then some, so we should be mindful of balancing the various priorities in terms of increasing budget lines. In the long term, having long-term, well-paid staff can create a lopsided balance of power that can be detrimental to organizations if there aren't policies in place to offset that. That's not a risk until several years down the road (and an order of magnitude of budget), but it's worth thinking about now.
Feel strongly that current
Feel strongly that current pay to Dominion/MC staff is unsustainable.