Not Worth It - Anonymous employee WhoWhatWhy Employee Review

1.0
Mar 30, 2021
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

My team of peers was a wonderful group of people. Its a great opportunity for the apprentice’s who get a stipend to learn from experienced journalists, otherwise it’s not worth it.

Cons

This organization is a joke. The business model is one where this news "organization" collects donation for its work but 99% of its staff is not compensated and the “CEO’ makes 6 figures and whines about not making much money. If you look up the IRS Form 990 for the organization you can clearly see the compensation of the "CEO", which is at least $100k, but he complained to his FREE LABOR that he doesn’t make “that much” money, or “not as much money as other CEOs in NYC." Excuse me sir, you can afford an apartment in manhattan, no one feels bad for you. You also aren’t generating millions (as clear by the form 990) like other CEOs in the city, so no you don’t deserve a CEO salary. The "CEO" claims that it is a "new" business model, as if not for profit news organizations have never existed before. Mr. baker, have you heard of propublica, the center for investigative reporting, or NPR? Each of those organizations has paid staff and still does investigative reporting. This “new and innovative” business model is his excuse for not paying employees. “People on the outside don’t understand the great work we’re doing here.” You’re right, which you should be thankful for because if not people might be investigating your organization. This company is a retired journalist's retirement project. He got tired of working for big news organizations, decided to try something on his own, but with no business acumen or ability to make it into a real business. So he gets to hire free labor and in return get’s a 6 figure salary. Honestly not a bad retirement plan, a great way to make 6 figures after you’ve retired by opening a company and passing it as a non-profit. The lack of leadership is capability astounding. He doesn’t have a business strategy, though he wants this to be the premier news organization. And he’s unwilling to invest in necessary resources for the teams and is pinching pennies probably because there’s no great funding plan. Overall, there's no great leadership accument, no business accumen to make this organization success outside of depending on high attrition free labor, and working here was not worthwhile in the least.' Also, this "CEO" will blame this review on being an anomaly. These things are no secret to the staff across all organizations. He's just unwilling to listen to any feedback that opposes his narrative that this is a "great" organization.

Explore other reviews about WhoWhatWhy

5.0
Nov 17, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Very good to learn as a college student Great opportunities to network Amazing feedback and growth

Cons

Nothing to say here. They did a great job!

1.0
Sep 15, 2020
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Good opportunity to build a portfolio of work and learn the ins and outs of a nonprofit - Good to get a foot in the door in the journalism industry

Cons

- The organization attempts to run on "volunteers" with only a few paid "independent contractors". Volunteers and contractors do the work of employees but are not compensated as employees. The result of this structure is an unbalanced organization with little to no diversity; the volunteers do all the work and the CEO/editor in chief reaps all of the benefits. It is not only unethical but illegal under NYS labor law, and yet it is somehow justified by the CEO/editor in chief because the organization is a "small nonprofit." - The "office" is the Editor-in-chief's manhattan studio apartment. The COVID pandemic might make this irrelevant, but it's good to know if you're ever asked to come in to the "office".

22
See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All