Star Tribune Reviews

Pros

Open schedule, and easy to work with managment

Cons

low commission, large discrepencies in my co-workers base. I sell more than my coworkers but, get paid less.

Advice to Senior Management

raise commission

Pros

Some of my coworkers were very talented and excellent people to work with.

Cons

Management has no regard what so ever for their employees only their investors. People who had devoted there entire careers to the company had their jobs off-shored and given a shameful severance pay. They were told that they could reapply for their former jobs at a pathetic salary but if they were hired they would have to pay the severance back! This kind of scenario was typical of management's solution to their declining market share. The solution for all their problems was to cut costs, when it should have been to be creative and search out new ways to generate income. The result of this policy was to loose even more of their client base by producing a substandard product and alienate any future customers. They declared bankruptcy in September 2009 (partly to sever any existing union contracts).

Advice to Senior Management

The paper should be owned locally by people who have a stake in not only the success of the paper as an investment, but also, as an institution that benefits the community with jobs and ACCURATE and UNBIASED news reporting.

Pros

This newspaper is a leading regional news outlet. It is capable of excellence. Pay and benefits have been backsliding but are still decent as the industry goes. Employee parking is plentiful and relatively inexpensive. There's a small, reasonably stocked fitness center available to employees for a small fee.

Cons

The product is often mediocre and doesn't meet its potential. The industry is in decline; company leaders do not appear to have vision for addressing this. Management at times appears to have contempt for employees.

Advice to Senior Management

First, develop a vision for operating in a changing climate for the industry and communicate it to employees. Second: Morale, morale, morale -- especially in difficult times.

Pros

Decent wages,the work isn't all that difficult.You get paid shift time even if you dont work the full shift. They do offer benefits.

Cons

Expensive health care. Company has elimimated any union persion.
Work is mostly nights and or weekends,dont dare manke a mistake or they try to suspend you.

Advice to Senior Management

Upper managment no longer cares about getting a good product out they are more concerned with making a profit then serving thier readership.
They need to focus on what keeps readership instead of worrying about the bottom line.

Pros

The Industry is changing dramatically. It's a tremendous opportunity to be in on the ground floor of a changing environment while participating in the magic of the creation of a daily product that is not the same from one day to the next and delivered all within a 24 hour time frame .

Cons

The uncertainity of the industry.

Advice to Senior Management

Be courageous, innovative, decisive and quicker than ever before in changing.

Pros

multiple products to sell. company is the #1 media outlet in the twin cities. people, including the managers, are all pretty cool.

Cons

intense micro-management is the biggest challenge. sure it could be worse, but the continuous reports that are demanded are redundant and a complete waste of time. everything that is asked for is either inconsequential, or could be gathered by the managers themselves. its as if there is a level of manangement that needs to create this 'busy work' for the lower level employees just to justify their own jobs. other than that, its really a pretty good place to work. sad that about 70-80% of the sales force is looking for other jobs.

Advice to Senior Management

enough with all the reports and itineraries. let us get out and do our jobs.