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Victoria Advocate

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Hard work, but worth the experience - Designer Victoria Advocate Employee Review

5.0
19 May 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The Advocate is truly a great place to stretch your journalism muscles - especially for young journalists. Bureaucracy is basically nonexistent and good ideas are listened to given the runway needed to succeed. Management appreciates creativity and is always open to trying new things. They also have a keen eye for hard workers who do good work and they reward as such with opportunities to cover big stories, work on big projects and more responsibilities that really shape and mold good journalists. The work environment is also really admirable. With such a small staff in a small town you lean on each other plenty - during my time there I wasn't just working with great journalists, but good friends, too.

Cons

There's no sugar coating here - the work is grueling. The Advocate doesn't have the resources large media companies, but management doesn't use this as an excuse for subpar work or coverage. That usually means more work for everyone, including being on call when you're needed in an emergency. It can be frustrating at times, of course, but powering through and doing good work in the face of the many obstacles proved beneficial for me and my career.

Explore other reviews about Victoria Advocate

5.0
22 Sept 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good teamwork and positive environment

Cons

The newspaper industry has its challenged

5.0
20 May 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The Victoria Advocate is one of the few newspapers I've worked at that offers consistency and long-term growth. For those coming in with a great attitude and desire to do good journalism, they can literally make a home here and stay forever. There is no fear of downsizing, layoffs or complacency in the newsroom. It is what you make it. So there is plenty of room to find big stories, work on series projects and grow an audience here, but the onus is on you to do so. Working at the Advocate has the potential to meet your needs for a short time and allow you to move on to something greater, or allow those who want to stay in community journalism the opportunity to take a seat at the table and stick around for a while. In a world of print downsizing, the Advocate is steady and growing. For interns coming in, the internship package here is one of the best I've seen anywhere. Rather than paying $10 per hour, interns get free housing in a charming 2-bedroom Victorian apartment walking distance from the newspaper, Internet, utilities, laundry, trash pick-up, parking, mileage reimbursement and a weekly stipend. The package totals about: $2,000 per month. Interns are treated like staff photographers with all the same responsibilities, rather than go-fers, so when they move on to a regular job, they're ready for the field. - Company benefits (newsroom) include: A laptop, ipad, $200 for an iphone, partial cell phone reimbursement, healthcare with medical, dental, life insurance, partial reimbursement for monthly gym membership, mileage reimbursement, maternity leave, etc.

Cons

- Living expenses in the area are relatively expensive.

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