Hopefully not how developers think of newsrooms.

News media have joined the great engineering talent grab. The Washington Post is looking for an iPhone developer; the Boston Globe needs a front-end developer for boston.com and bostonglobe.com. The Chicago Tribune is looking for a news apps developer. The New York Times Media Group is looking for three web developers, a WordPress developer and an interactive graphics editor in New York, as well as a web developer in Tampa. The AP, WSJ and Newsweek are looking for programmers; so is the New York Observer.

At a time when Wall Street is wooing technical talent with plush salaries and start-ups are fighting to provide the mostest happy fun time edgy dot-com redux workspace imaginable (stand-up desks! wacky office antics! field trips to the beach!), the news industry is a tough sell.

But the newspapers are making a game attempt:

"There is no free pop, pinball or posh cafeteria," the Trib's listing says. "You’ll be surrounded by reporters arguing with the cops, yelling about the ball game, telling crazy stories, and otherwise practicing their trade." But, you'll make your mom proud, the listing goes on to say. "Beat that, Google."

"We offer competitive pay, air-conditioning and lots of fun work," says the Times.

UPDATE: As several news devs pointed out on Twitter, there are a lot more papers in hiring mode. A great list is here.