Media General Reviews

I have been working at Media General part-time

Pros – Benefits are okay, not remarkable. It's a starting place: a place to grow skills, learn new software programs and the like.

Cons – Lurking supervisors, weak middle managers who have had their jobs forever. Notably outdated company culture and management trends. Little value is attributed to outstanding performers. Staff reductions of those who actually do the work are commonplace.

Advice to Senior Management – With new owners it is hoped that there will be a major improvement in managers and morale.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Media General full-time for more than a year

Pros – Active TV news industry; Health Insurance Better than Average; Vacation Days; High news numbers; Sold off Newspapers!

Cons – No raises; Furloughs; No opportunity for Growth; No bonuses; Pay is not competitive with market; Mismanagement and lack of communication within departments.

Advice to Senior Management – Get new management. Not adaptable to changes in technology/ways of doing things. Still run on "old school" notion -- news flash, newspapers do not run the media industry anymore. Focus on things in specific markets. Utilize Social Media more.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

I worked at Media General full-time for more than a year

Pros – Good Coffee, exceptional hours, good parking, professional atmosphere.

Cons – Antiquated system and technology, poor management, lack of ingenuity. Takes two weeks to access reports. Too many chiefs, not enough indians. Far fetched expectations with out a firm foundation to work from.

Advice to Senior Management – Open your minds and doors to new ideas and spend some time and money in IT.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

I have been working at Media General

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

Cons – Print industry is in trouble.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Media General

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.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Media General

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.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Media General

Pros – A good place to get experience

Cons – contsant layoffs and furloughs. Not many opportunites for advancement

I worked at Media General

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.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Media General

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.

I worked at Media General

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.