Company-Owned Versus Independent Newspapers

In terms of your first reporting job, there are pros and cons on both sides of these coins. If upward mobility is important to you, consider taking a job with a newspaper that is owned by a media giant.

For instance, USA Today is owned by Gannett, so even if you start at a small Gannett paper, you have the opportunity for advancement. Also, if it's a full-time position, salary and benefits are typically better when you're under a major publisher. They tend to be professional and organized newsrooms with powerful journalism stories. It's also known to look better down the line, because future employers--even if they might not know the newspaper (if it's small)--they know the company. So they'll raise their eyebrows and go, "Oh, it's a New York Times Co. newspaper" or "Wow, he or she was at Cox."

Personally, company-owned is the way that I went after graduating from college. I started at a small Scripps-owned newspaper and am now at a small Gannett daily. But I went after both types of newspapers.

Vouching for the independent side, these newspapers are usually more invested into their workers--ya know, less corporate and better work culture. There could also be more opportunity for experience since they aren't known to have gigantic staffs. You probably would have more freedom, in terms of coverage, and practice more innovative approaches. Editors here tend to be more flexible and heavily involved with the personal growth of their reporters. It might be really beneficial to begin your career at a learning-oriented, entry-level-friendly newspaper, like so many independently-owned newspapers are. Then if you decide to make a jump to a company-owned paper, you'll be more prepared.

Understand that these are all basic generalizations. They won't always run true, and every newspaper has its own way of running a newsroom. These are all just things to consider.

If you're interested, the following are some of the largest newspaper publishers in the nation:

1. Gannett Co. (85 dailies)

2. New York Times Co. (18 newspapers, including the New York Times)

3. E.W. Scripps (23 newspapers, 1 major newswire)

4. Cox Newspapers (16 newspapers)

5. Lee Enterprises Inc.(56 dailies in 23 states)

6. Journal Register Co. (22 dailies)

7. McClatchy Co. (31 dailies, 47 non-dailies)

8. Tribune Co. (11 dailies, including the Los Angeles Times)

9. Media General Inc. (25 dailies)

10. Advance Publications (36 newspapers)

11. Hearst Corporation (12 dailies, including the San Francisco Chronicle and Houston Chronicle)

12. Freedom Communication (28 dailies, 37 weeklies)

13. MediaNews Group Inc. (57 dailies in 12 states)

14. Morris Communications (27 dailies)

15. Horizon Publications Inc. (31 newspapers)

16. Pulitzer, Inc. (14 dailies)

17. Odgen Newspapers Inc. (40 dailies, 100 weeklies)