San Jose Mercury News Reviews

Pros

The San Jose Mercury News was a well thought of representative of the Silicon Valley community. When you mentioned that you were employed there, people smiled, nodded and said they loved the paper and how much of a help it was to them.

Cons

As with the newspaper industry as a whole, the emergence of the internet meant a decline in paid circulation and readership. People felt sorry for you if you worked there.

Pros

Large company with potential for advancement, fair compensation, good benefits

Cons

Budget cuts due to challenges in the publishing industry and economy overall, change in ownership, short-term thinking to make bottom-line profit without thinking about long-term future

Pros

It used to be a paper with ambitions and you could move to other beats. I loved my colleagues, many of whom became really good friends. Now all of my friends have left of course, after so many layoffs.

Cons

I no longer work there but from what I hear, it's a sausage factory. The staff is so thin these days, especially in the business department. Used to be one of the best business reporting around. Reporters who are there still crank out good stuff, but there's lots of cranking it out and feeding teh best.

Pros

In the 1980s - 1990s, The San Jose Mercury News did a lot of international coverage. The Mercury News was first newspaper to establish a Vietnam Bureau, and first to build a newspaper website.

Cons

Management treated editorial staff poorly. Salaries did not keep up with inflation. The union was powerless, in many instances, to defend their members from accusations of poor performance. If you get a job there get in, get good, and get out.

Pros

I thoroughly enjoyed my time working with the editors in the sports section. Their attention to detail and the time they spent with me was impressively over the top.

Cons

There were no full-time positions available, and I was told there might never be another opening.

Pros

The Mercury offered the best bonus plan and training during the Knight Ridder ownership. Knight Ridder made the employees feel appreciated and they took pride in their work.

Cons

Media News Group was constantly reducing cost without considering the impact on quality of the product. They eliminated award winning writers and their best advertising people to reduce cost. It was difficult to watch the loss of these key people who had been there for years.

Pros

Lots of room for growth, pretty good management,

Cons

Women paid less than men for same job.