Media General Reviews

Pros

Support staff, Management who genuinely care about their employees, and growth potential in the digital medium.

Cons

Print industry is in trouble.

Pros

Great Place to grow professionally. There are many benefits to working for #1 Newspaper, #1 TV station and #1 Local News Website.

Cons

With so many changes in 2011 managers and employees were left wondering if their job would exist in the next week. They recently laid off 165 employees a week before Christmas. If you have a great year and bring in revenue over your annual budget you will pay for it the following year. To save money and even the playing field your percentage paid will be scaled down. You must work twice as hard to make the same as the previous year.

Advice to Senior Management

Trim middle management, empower and create incentives that motivate your employees, effectively combat regional competition, and invest in younger employees through management training.

Pros

A good place to get experience

Cons

contsant layoffs and furloughs. Not many opportunites for advancement

Pros

There are a few good mid-level managers left, who somehow survived the lay-offs, and these managers are great to work for and have defended front-line workers as best they could.

Cons

Massive waves of lay-offs have contributed to a cynical, dog-eat-dog culture. The pay is terrible and worsening. And management seems to be unable to cope gracefully with the Richmond Times-Dispatch's dwindling relevance.

Advice to Senior Management

Concentrate on creating more niche market and hyper-local publications, online or print. Also, a restructuring of the entire classified advertising section is needed. Perhaps more free ads for advertisers are needed -- or something like the first X amount of lines are free, etc. It just seems pointless to pay for classified ads these days.

Pros

The job was interesting, varied and informative. My colleagues were the company's best asset. Everyone works hard to meet the common goal of a meaningful daily newspaper.

Cons

Sadly, no one is buying newspapers anymore so there is a sense of futility in the newsroom. Waves of layoffs have sunk morale to a level of hopelessness. Management lays off productive, dedicated, long term employees like they were old news. Management doesn't have a clue how to save the newspsper so they lay off workers to boost the bottom line rather than cut the high paid decision-makers. As a result the newspaper suffers because there aren't enough people to produce meaningful content. Management is cold and clueless.

Advice to Senior Management

Reassess your approach to keeping the newspaper a viable product. Rehire some of the seasoned journalists you've laid off and reduce the number of highly paid upper management.

Pros

Colleagues are wonderful, interesting people. Working in same building with TV station WFLA and website TBO.com provides good multimedia experience. Building is in nice location downtown with picture windows overlooking the Hillsborough River.

Cons

Atmosphere a little depressing due to state of newspapers, shrinkage in newsroom staffing and news hole and continued threat of layoffs.

Advice to Senior Management

Management is probably doing everything it can in a difficult situation. It could perhaps do more to let employees know how much they are appreciated.

Pros

The people there are great and the atmosphere is relaxed. They are going through cutbacks. For someone lacking job experience and not looking for top dollar they are a good opportunity to build your resume.

Cons

MG is a media company in a bad economy and there have been many cutbacks. In the second half of 2011 they mandated 15 furlough days.

Advice to Senior Management

You've been giving yourself raises while the company is going down the tubes. What does that do for morale? I bet you could find a better CEO for less than half the money. Evaluate the products that Digital Media is turning out.

Pros

They are spread out nicely around the south eastern united states. They have some nice perks for working in media and have lots of way to help other people.

Cons

They have tons of debt, tons of news papers, and no plan on how to make money. Their is little growth and constant threat of lay offs and furloughs. Internal transfers are never followed up on and would rather hire local less qualified people then keep current people.

Advice to Senior Management

They need a clear plan forward and stop asking employees for ideas or their money.

Pros

They have management that are very good and communicate with their employees.

Cons

The media industry is having a hard time and they have had to lay-off people recently.

Advice to Senior Management

It would be nice to see MG look at each business unit individually and make decisions based on their profitability.

Pros

Make your own schedule. You can relocate pretty easily.

Cons

Commission only, lack or management skills

Advice to Senior Management

Ask questions spend a day with thestaff before you implement new plicies new technology new ways of doing things. You know common sense!