KATU

An Overall Toxic Work Environment

I wouldn't say the newsroom was overall toxic. All of the people were great but the way the newsroom operated didn't provide a good feel.

On my very first day working at KATU I was excited to be there but then I started to see how management ran the station. At first the station seemed to be very welcoming but sometimes their nasty side could come out. When I first interviewed I was informed that they were trying to fill various positions. I was OK with that at first because I heard about the good things this station did in this market. I was told that the workload was a little heavier but it would calm down once all of the staff was hired. That never happened. We were required to be in all three shows. We did tracked VOSOTs and then a PKG, however, those tracked VOSOTs always ended up being another PKG. That's three PKGs a day with little to no time to do it. That's crazy! It was exhausting and overwhelming. This market covers a lot of stories about the drug problems, homelessness, and other city government issues. It really impacts your mental health when you have to report on it and live in the city. This station has lost a lot of reporters, producers, and photographers due to being overworked. Many of us just didn't like the vibe we were getting from management. This station follows the Sinclair branding to a T. You're the voice of the voiceless and you are expected to dig deeper and deeper even if time doesn't allow. Many of us came from mid-sized markets and we were still learning. The ND would say, "this is market 22." I get that but be a better teacher to those who are still figuring out how to be better journalists. I will say the desk was helpful at times and the station was on top of it but sometimes they did follow what the other stations did. This station hovers between 1 & 2 in the market but no one could ever give a clear ranking of where KATU stood even though we won mainly in the early evening shows. Ratings were everything to the ND. This station will give you the tools you need to move up to a bigger market but just know you will be working hard until you can get out of there. I wish I would have reached out to the former reporters to see what was going on or I would have not signed a contract. If you're interviewing, demand to be flown out to feel out the vibe yourself or do not take it. Since COVID a lot of stations are not flying people out which isn't good if you don't get a feel for where you'll be working. All in all, some people love it and others hate working here. Make the decision for yourself.