33 Universal Reviews

Pros

upbeat, fast pace, full plate work environment. you will always be busy as long as you are going with the program

Cons

no parking provided; not great for folks with a vehicle

Pros

I was at first hesitant to work at this place since the reviews on glass door were not that good, but I also realized that reviews are usually written by people who have strong complaints. I figured, there are probably many people who just find the company just fine but didn't bother to write a review. As a fresh graduate, I knew that finding a job would be hard so I applied to many places including 33 Universal, and they were one of the first to provide me an opportunity to kick start my journalism career. To be honest, I am quite thankful! I was informed in the interview that they are a start up company so I know that I should be not expect them to be perfect. So far, the experience has been pleasant. Can't complain for having a job when I know some many people struggling to find a job!

Cons

There is a big focus on traffic, which can sometimes take away from the content, but I understand that every newspaper needs readership. So I can't really complain.

Pros

Free coffee No real management/supervision No accountability, which allows you to screw up without anyone caring Air conditioning in the office

Cons

It is imperative that anyone considering working for 33 Universal, IBT or any of their many affiliate companies/websites should read the reports by The Guardian and Mother Jones written recently about how the company -- which now owns Newsweek. Those of us who have worked for 33 Universal in the past were and are aware of many of the revelations made in these articles (as well as those made by similar publications around the same time). It's not just the company's egregiously poor journalism, total lack of fact-checking or minimal use of copyediting. It's the fact that they can knowingly take advantage of their workers and "interns" the way they do. Working for 33 Universal will not only NOT help your career, but it will indeed hinder it. It will be a blot on your resume. Better to be a bartender and keep looking for a more substantial job elsewhere in the city or online. If you don't trust the MANY negative reviews of those of us who have worked there, go into the office and take a look for yourself. Beyond the smoke-screen of the nice building and relatively nice office, you'll meet the most vapid people you've ever seen typing as fast as they can, "repurposing" whatever other articles they can find in order to make their impossible quotas for the day. If you actually like what you see, you may very well be the exact kind of zombie worker they're looking to exploit. If you don't, run! You CAN do better!

Pros

Free coffee. The office is in a great location of Manhattan.

Cons

If you're considering working here, do me a favor and answer me this: Who is the CEO? Give up? The employees don't know either. This is hands-down the most shady "media" company (linked to IBT Media) you'll ever encounter. They're basically slave drivers, all about getting hits, but you won't see an extra dime for your efforts, whether you get 100k hits or 1 million. You'll be paid the same horrific, barely livable salary with a joke of insurance, no benefits, no paid vacations, no days off, and no holidays, until you croak or the company does. Most employees are young, fresh out of school and desperate for work. They've never heard of 33 Universal or its many sites, but they're decent writers and in need of a paycheck. That's where they get you. They fire people left and right for the most insipid things, the president is insane and constantly trying to push his ultra-conservative agenda in the office and on the websites, and people have been known to quit after ONE. DAY. This company has been getting worse, if that's possible. For all of the years I worked there, I never received one bonus, one acknowledgment of my hard work, or one paid vacation. Nada. That's because it doesn't exist. You are merely a typing machine to them, and if you break down or refuse to work, they'll replace you with another nervous, wide-eyed, fresh out of undergrad/grad school kid within days.

Pros

If it's between this place and starving or being thrown out of your apartment, seriously consider if you could consider dumpster diving and sleeping rough as an "urban adventure" rather than a last resort. If you absolutely cannot, you might be slightly more comfortable working with this outfit than you would sleeping among the rats in the subway. Slightly.

Cons

Extremely low pay -- the rate will be less than minimum wage once that law changes, so you'd be better off at McDonald's. And the first time you ask when you can expect to see the pittance you've earned, you'll get your walking papers. This happened to me, and I spent the next four months fighting to get them to pay me what I was owed. I mentioned the word "lawyer," and the funds magically appeared two days later. The writing is terrible, and that is with the native English speakers. There's little to no original content, and a growing reliance on cheap labor in the form of aggregators in the Philippines, which usually results in straight-up plagiarism (who can blame them? They don't speak the language). This leaves editors a huge mess to clean up, yet you're expected to do that in less than 15 minutes per story. It's all about clicks, quantity over quality. Do a little digging online and you'll see that these low-traffic, poor-quality websites are a front for an evangelical South Korean ministry whose leader believes he is the second coming of Christ.

Pros

The job got off to a rocky start due to a lack of organization and zero benefits. But over time there was a gradual change- a new boss came on board (which helped boost morale) and insurance was added. The change also allowed for more original reporting instead of the same constant news gathering. Communication between management and staff is encouraged, which means any suggestion or grievance is discussed and taken into account.

Cons

-Paychecks are sometimes late (although that hasn't happened in a few months) -Workload can be a burden and doesn't promote creativity -Lack of socialization among coworkers

Pros

Free coffee Nice building Young staff Co-workers you can vent to

Cons

After I fled this job -- as a lot of people do once they're there for longer than a few weeks -- I didn't think I'd look back. But, I just Googled it out of curiosity, saw this site and looked into it and saw a couple of suspicious new positive reviews I had to respond to here. I'm still in touch with a few people who haven't been able to leave yet (even though they really wish they could but haven't found other jobs and are stuck), and they say though there is finally some medical insurance, it's totally worthless. Surprise. The whole "religious" thing is pretty shady. There's plenty of articles online that go into it and better do your homework before you sign on here. The "we're just a start-up" line is cute, but they've been around for a few years now, so that's no reason to treat their employees as horribly as they do. Best advice is to check it out for yourself. As soon as you walk in, you'll see it's all pretty weird. Nice building, but odd folks and everyone is so miserable. For good reason.

Pros

Paychecks (in the random instances they arrive on time). Air. Lectures from your cult-member CEO about how he knows more about journalism than you (he doesn't; he never even completed college).

Cons

33 Universal, its partners and sites (Ibt Times, Newsweek, Latin Post, Latinos Post, Music Times, Design Times, Fashion Times, etc.) might look like the nadir of Buzzfeed clickbait styled "journalism," but it's even worse than it seems: the sites are actually all a moneymaking venture for the South Korean cult of David Jang and Olivet "University" in California. Just Google Search: "David Jang" + "33 universal" + "cult" and find out for yourself. Don't believe a word the company tries to sell you, you're nothing more than a typing machine covered in skin to them. You will never receive a raise here. You will work six days a week, every week, without overtime. You will work every holiday (christmas, thanksgiving, new years, July 4) unless you use your "vacation time," which at every other company would be referred to as "federal holidays." You will write about the latest Selena Gomez album, tie in Justin Bieber's name for keywording's sake, you will source the article from 5 different equally terrible websites, and you will LIKE it dammit.

Pros

Remote setting made for more comfortable communication. Fairly good pay per article basis. I worked for this company once before, and this experience was far more pleasant than the first.

Cons

Very little (if any) feedback. Writers cannot access their own articles in case editors left mistakes behind.