And a recent study by the Institute for Women's Policy Research adds a bit of kindling to that fire, by pointing out that the non-management types in the Wired Telecommunications sector (the phone companies) -- are currently among the highest paid in the media industry overall. In other words, they're the ones really in the crosshairs of convergence -- the ones most likely to get cut:
Wired Telecommunications provides the highest median weekly earnings for nonsupervisory workers among all the industries examined in this report, at $750 per week for full-time workers, or $39,000 per year—almost 50 percent higher than median earnings for all other U.S. industries ($520 a week, or $27,040 annually). In contrast, average weekly earnings in the Wireless industry are $638. Workers in Radio/TV/Cable earn less, with median weekly earnings of $598. Pay in Motion Pictures and Newspapers is lower, and closer to the average for all workers outside the Communications and Media Sector ($542 and $505, respectively).The report, "Making the Right Call: Jobs and Diversity in the Communications and Media Sector" was funded, in part, by BellSouth Corp. (NYSE: BLS).
— Phil Harvey, State of the Union Editor, Light Reading