I don't disagree (i.e. KOC), but he was also the beneficiary of Simmons' enthusiasm and support early on. KOC was frequently on Simmons' podcast, his articles were RT'd, and was clearly given favorable treatment because he was a kid from Framingham who loved the Celtics. If I were another young writer at the Ringer, that probably would have annoyed me.
Do you know how many people I've worked with that got the job because of some form of nepotism?
Look, I don't think its on the onus of The Ringer to elevate standards for the entire writing/blogging industry. From what (little) we know, they're paid average or above average salary. If the place has a ceiling and provides no upward mobility, they can leave. The union is saying the salary isn't industry standard, and neither are the benefits. Since "industry standard" implies common practice in the industry, it sure makes it sound like there are plenty of other options for these folks at other companies.
Which we know isn't true. Because its a super competitive industry, and also one where only the top 1% make a lot of money. A lot of the staff fell into a very lucky situation. They were hired by a small media company that was almost destined to blow up into a giant media company. Simply putting, "The Ringer" on their resumes gets them into just about any interview they want. Unfortunately, the industry sucks and the majority of jobs would both pay them less, and be less prestigious. Again, this doesn't make it The Ringers responsibility to elevate standards for the entire industry.
Its a tough situation for them. I feel for them. But it doesn't sound like there were any promises broken by The Ringer. Come work for a small company that will grow big. grow your brand. Work super hard. Get paid a fair salary. That's it. I'm unsympathetic because this is very, "Have your cake and eat it too". They won the lottery getting this job, now they expect it to provide them a high paying salary with upward mobility for the next 15 years? That wasnt ever the business model for The Ringer. Just like any other good startup, they worked their five year plan to a T.
- Hire cheap talent that will work hard to grow their own brand and The Ringers brand
- Use Simmons and his connections to bring in listeners
- Gobble up any good competing talent with startup nestegg in order to own the landscape
- Use industry dominance to be only player with enough prestige/cash to bring on popular personas
- Walk away from any talent that gets too expensive
- Cash out
I mean, its not THAT simple. But it kind of is. Everyone that works at a startup has a role. I had a boss that knew he was great early on in startups, but by the time an acquisition rolled around, his strengths were no longer needed. He navigated his career as such. A large portion of the staff was hired in step one above. Their role and niche has become less useful as the business plan has developed. For the third time, its not on The Ringer to drag these people along and give them higher pay and more benefits simply because they've been with the company for 5 years. In the sports world we all call that, "paying for past performance."
I do feel bad that these folks are in a tough spot. But this is the industry and career they picked. We all know it, and they do too. Its why they're trying to muscle what they can before it all slips away.