McClatchy Company Reviews

Pros

For size of city, downtown Charlotte is relatively livable. Affordable housing nearby, and good transportation options. (But suburbs can have nightmare traffic.) Project were enjoyable and supported. Colleagues were collegial. Good fit for a young professional.

Cons

I wasn't fired personally, but firings were frequent and seemingly arbitrary -- often coming as RIF percentages from corporate. It all contributed to an atmosphere of fear.

Pros

-Ability to be out in the community and interact with business owners.
-Being able to own your territory and be given assigned accounts.

Cons

-Horrible leadership
-Short sighted approach to business
-Don't care about their clients budget or delivering results
-Constant turnover
-Fire successful employees and replace them with someone they can pay half
-Lofty, Unattainable Goals
-Motivate through fear
-No room for growth
-outsourced most work overseas at this point

Advice to Senior Management

-Create an open line of communication with your employees.
-Strive for success as a whole and not self-preservation of your own job
-Stop driving away talent
-Trust your employees to do their job
-Be willing to try new things and be comfortable with change

Pros

Good benefits and the people that are left are very hard working people. Of course you have to be to take on all the added responsibilities.

Cons

The company is always downsizing or taken from the employees such as increased costs of health coverage, pay cuts, furloughs, increased workload with no added benefits (except be happy you have a job). Even though you may have a vacation balance, its difficult to use it when there is no one to cover, therefore losing any vacation at the end of the year. Perhaps, if they cant get their employees their vacation time, they should at least pay them for what they lose.

Advice to Senior Management

Present a case to McClatchy and show how the Eagle has done more with less compared to some of their sister newspapers. Enough said. I dont want to kick a company when they're down.

Pros

the time off every year

Cons

no pay, could definitely pay better

Pros

Uptown location, discount on newspaper subscription, best news web site in charlotte market,

Cons

Unfair environment, not fair to all employees

Advice to Senior Management

Get new management that cares about employees

Pros

large company with family-owned background.
corporate keeps hands off of daily content.
Pruitt could come speak at your office, he will politely listen, charm you with his optimism.
Most middle management are nice and competent.
Many good journalists who are dedicated to the craft work here.
you can join employee only credit union (it is not company owned)
Profit sharing is to return.
Decent vacation time per years of service policy. Increase now begins at 4th year.

Cons

company has much debt after buying Knight-Ridder.
after lots of company-wide buyouts, frontline and support staff cuts, hourly pay cuts, move to 7.5 hr work day, staff "restructuring", pressworker layoffs, morale is low and you are left with many on the front lines who are frustrated, burning (burnt) out and taking out their own garbage and vacuuming floors around their desks (cleaning crew laidoff.)
Pruitt will tell you that every newspaper made a profit last year (after workers endure years of sentence above.)
Some middle to upper management are nice, useless and have checked out awhile ago.
Sick time no longer accrues. It is lost at end of year.
Many nonmanagement people have departed or were laid off in the rounds of cuts earlier, which means a majority of those who are left are there because they can't afford to retire, need the medical coverage and,or know these skills don't translate elsewhere and they have no other options after being on the desk for 20, 30 years.
There is a constant challenge to have enough content to fill what few pages of A1, metro that remain because there are so few reporters. They have been laidoff, bought out or quit.

Over the past several years focus has shifted from editing copy, creating interesting designs with meaningful content and headlines to filling pages quickly, using a lot of dull filler wire copy, less editing with fewer editors' eyes on a page. As such, even less opportunity to improve skills. Must be self motivated to succeed here. New focus also means that the needs/wants/opportunities to help the readers ends up secondary, if that. There is just no time. Morale is not great among the desk.

Advice to Senior Management

Your employees are working more than they ever did and still have to produce good journalism everyday, some help and appreciation once in a while would be nice. Not food or parties, but words. ... Listen to ideas that the younger staff offer up. That generation will be reading the paper (or not) when you are retired. ... Tell us how we are to believe in the future of the company, not just to have faith and wait for the economy to improve. ... Treat all employees fairly and expect everyone attempt to work at work. Some have to work even harder because others are not (and are not shy about being on Facebook, or routinely gather around the watercooler instead of working.)

Pros

Outside sales at least gives you the opportunity to work within the community and not in the toxic office of TSN.

Cons

No organization in the company. Lack of care or concern for employees. No recognition. No accountability for errors and mistakes. Poor compensation.

Advice to Senior Management

Manage.

Pros

The benefits were reasonable as benefits go.

Cons

Unrealistic sales goals were given in the middle of month and sometimes increased after the month was over.

Advice to Senior Management

You have lost touch with reality.

Pros

friendly very flexible . very understanding at times. great benefits, willing to work with you . ability to grow with the company

Cons

you have to work very long hours and management can be pushy at times and sometimes you dont get breaks

Advice to Senior Management

if you have to interview know the task that they want you for and memorize it they will ask you questions about it

Pros

ok benefits, not so on the salary

Cons

long hours , but offers flexibility

Advice to Senior Management

NA