CANDIDATES NEED CENTRAL LONDON ADDRESS SO THEY CAN ATTEND EVENING “RECEPTIONS AND EVENTS”
* GRADUATE FOG EXCLUSIVE! *
** OOH! THIS STORY HAS JUST BEEN PICKED UP BY THE GUARDIAN! **
A magazine publisher has shocked job-seeking journalists by insisting that applicants for a journalism job must live within 30 minutes of Bond Street, one of central London’s most expensive areas.
The advert is for a ‘Journalist / Editor’ at Publishing Business, which owns business and lifestyle titles whose target readership is wealthy Londoners, including Paddington Now, Mayfair Times, The Portman, The Northbank, Sloane Square and Belgravia. Here is the advert as it appears on Journalism.co.uk:
The posting also appears on Indeed.co.uk – where the advert states that applicants will have three years of journalism experience. So, it seems likely that applicants will be young journalists in their 20s. As journalism is not a particularly well-paid profession, Graduate Fog questions how many applicants will be able to live so close to Bond Street (which runs through Mayfair, home to the most expensive property ever sold in the UK at £90m). So we wrote to Adrian Day, managing director at Publishing Business, to give him a chance to explain:
To: Adrian Day, Publishing Business
From: Tanya de Grunwald, Graduate Fog
Date: Monday 29 February 2016
Subject: Question about your editor jobHi Adrian,
I run the graduate careers website Graduate Fog.
One of my readers has drawn my attention to your job advert for a Journalist / Editor at Publishing Business:
https://www.journalism.co.uk/media-jobs/journalist-editor/s75/a611531/The job sounds great. However, it is rather concerning that you have specified that applicants must live less than 30 minutes away from Bond Street. Given the nature of the magazines that you publish, you must surely be aware that living in central London is simply not affordable for many people (including those on a journalist’s salary).
Are you not concerned that this requirement will mean that only those with a private income, wealthy parents or a wealthy partner will be able to apply? Or perhaps you are offering a salary that is so impressive that they would find it easy to afford a central London rent?
I would be very grateful if you could clarify how you can justify making an applicant’s geographical residence a requirement for the job.
With thanks,
Tanya
Unfortunately, we are yet to hear back from Mr Day.
Recent research by education charity The Sutton Trust found that more than half of leading print journalists (51% each) attended fee-paying schools. Despite all our campaigning, unpaid internships and free trial shifts are still common within this industry – with one Graduate Fog reader told us he had gone bankrupt trying to break into journalism.
Could adverts like this be yet another reason why journalism has now become such an exclusive and elitist profession?
* WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS JOB ADVERT?
Is it reasonable for employers to demand that applicants live less than a set commuting distance from the place of work? Will insisting that candidates for this journalist / editor role live less than 30 minutes away put off poorer candidates from applying? Share your views below!
I live in Clapham North in a shared house with two others. It takes around 25-30 mins to get to Bond Street. I pay £500 per month rent. I am writing to say that it is possible for someone to live within half an hour of Bond Street without being loaded. I would not be interested in a job that had a significant amount of after hours commitments if I lived further away than this, so perhaps the advertiser has a point.
@ Nicolette – Thanks for your comment. It’s interesting that this story seems to have really divided opinion! Lots of people Retweeted it, but others don’t feel it’s a story at all!
Do you not feel that it’s unfair that someone who lives further than 30 minutes from Bond Street (which many would consider a very short commute, by London standards) is effectively being told that they cannot apply for this job?
Although – as you point out – it is possible to live fairly centrally and pay a low rent, it is quite unusual. Don’t you agree?
I went to the NUJ conference (DM 2016) at the weekend. It turns out that 30 percent of the NUJ membership are now freelancers, and its increasing.
So, although it is true to say that journalism has become somewhat elitist over the years, I don’t believe its accurate to state that this state of affairs represents the entirety of the profession. In fact, it could be argued that if you focus on this, instead of just getting on with it, you might even make it more so.
Here’s a couple of good ideas – if you want to be a journalist and can’t get into the glossies and well-paid roles, consider freelancing instead. Secondly, help your colleagues by joining the NUJ!!!