KJRH

An Overall Toxic Work Environment

HORRIBLE, I advise anyone looking into this place to stay away!

An Overall Toxic Work Environment

Let me be clear, the overall individual effort by so many of my peers is admirable. Everyone who leaves this station as a reporter, anchor, producer, director, photog., etc will go one to do bigger and better things. These people truly pull their own and then some. Managers on the other hand are going to run this place to the ground. It’s hard to tell how much of the harrowing morale is corporate’s fault, but the station, in my humble opinion, will continue to be a horrible work environment as long as GM Amy Calvert continues to serve as the boss. Anybody else find it strange how much face time she gets on TV? Seems like she’s featured in either a VOSOT or PKG every week or so. I’ve never seen a GM put her face on TV, let alone as often as she does. I’ve heard from producers these Amy-featured-segments are “must-run”.

I hope before you accept a job offer from this station you get a chance to read this review. You will likely get buyer’s remorse. Everybody I know that’s escaped this unholy infrastructure have told me “it’s like a weight has been lifted” from their shoulders. Every department is short-staffed by AT LEAST 2 people, so if you like being overworked for the least livable wage possible, this job is for you.

But hey, at least the ratings are good....oh wait.....my mistake....they’re dead last every day. As in it’s been a good day if the mornings post a 0.2. Occasionally, as a fluke, one of the evening shows will finish 2nd or even 1st. Then we’ll all get an email from Amy the next day congratulating everybody on their hard work and that this is the start of a promising ratings trend.....only for the station to promptly fall back in last place as per usual.

Last I heard (since I don’t work there anymore) there’s 1 producer writing and boothing the entire 2 and a half morning show. I believe the 10pm producer is usually a producer that’s already done one of the earlier shows as well. That’s absolutely outrageous.

You might think, “we’ll at least you get good overtime, right?”

Well, yes and no. Mostly no. They’ll tell you overtime is an option, but managers will bend over backwards to keep from approving it.

A few years back when Warren Stewart was our station manager, we had tons of overtime since he inexplicably fired the production manager at the same time another newscast director quit. But then Warren absolutely botched a studio renovation. He mustered some budget out of nowhere since corporate didn’t send any money for said renovation, maxed out EVERY credit card every manager had, and then out of the blue, our overtime was cut. Weird, right? The amazing thing is after the reno, our ratings jumped from from last place to.....last place. Wah-wah.

The other thing you’ll probably find is that if you stay there long enough, eventually you’ll make slightly more money through yearly raises, etc, right? That’s pretty normal. But as soon as the bosses notice you’re making considerably more money than some of your less experienced peers, they’ll railroad you out of there in a bogus way to make room for the budget. I’ve seen this happen.

The ONE person apparently impervious to managerial criticism and budgetary constraints is the Chief Meteorologist. I don’t know how true this is, but I hear he’s got a friend (if not several) on the corporate level at Scripps. That wouldn’t bother me so much if he didn’t have the worst work ethic of anyone I’ve ever worked with.

He’s the one person at the station I’ve directly worked with whom I’ve had consistent problems. He’s screwed over producers and directors alike during shows all the time. Sometimes I’d stop myself and think, “Hey, I think it’s been a whole week since our Chief Met hasn’t done anything to aggravate me.” Like clockwork, though, as soon as I think that, he does something stupid on the air. He’ll say “ummm” a bunch and put a turkey graphic over Wednesday before Thanksgiving instead of Thursday on the extended forecast graphic. At least once a day he’s not ready for his first wx hit even though we’ve printed him a rundown AND told him point blank when he’s coming up. Stuff like that. Yet somehow, he’s untouchable - completely free of chastisement. Better meteorologists than him at the station have quit from the sheer injustice of having that buffoon as the face of the wx department.

Long story short, you’ll probably make some decent friends along the way, but you won’t make money and you’ll be miserable. Don’t work here.

An Overall Toxic Work Environment

If you follow FTV youll know all about the bad run this station has had. It used to be the #2 in the market and was handed off to an incompetent ND with no business being a boss. It was Toxic and there was actually a sign in the newsroom for Number of Days since someone quit (think of the number of days since an accident signs). After that horrible run, we got a bit of a good move going for us with a new ND, but corp wants results and they want them now. Just as the tide was turning and the mood finally a happy one the new ND was out and in comes the most dramatic, nutjob to ever grace a newsroom. This guy treated people like playthings, belittled, badgered and harrassed reporters and staff. Turned photogs into personal slaves and bypassed a thousand OSHA regs. He was so notoriously inappropriate and such a backstabber that everyone in the newsroom recorded every conversation on their phones just to protect themselves. Now however, the station is being lead in a better direction. The mood is improving but the bare bones staff is tired. producers and reporters have been through the nightmare and are burnt out. the toxic rep from years of bad management makes it difficult to get new reporters and producers. The tide has turned - but a brave few are going to have to take the leap and trust that things are going to be ok in Tulsa.

Its a fun place to work - honestly once you get past the bare bones staffing we have fun at work. You get away with being far more relaxed and goofy at this place than any other station youll find. news staff are a close family of friends and are constantly hanging out outside of work. It's a good place with a bad rep from the past.

Sexual Discrimination, An Overall Toxic Work Environment

The previous news director tried to turn the station around, but corporate fired him for not moving quickly enough. Then they brought Warren in, and he ran it into the ground in a hurry. He treats people like playthings. He "jokes" about female employees needing time off "for abortions!" He likes to target women and straight men for harassment. Whenever minor issues happen, he immediately threatens disciplinary action, such as not immediately filing a show discrepancy report after broadcast, or not sending in a equipment repair order as soon as something breaks. In the year he's been there, he's managed to turn everyone who's left against him. People are bailing from this place as quickly as possible!

The station has a long history of high turnover. Just check FTVLive! To be sure, there are some really great people in the newsroom, but management is awful. It starts at the corporate level and goes down from there. Avoid KJRH like the plague.
I will say I learned an awful lot at this place, mostly what NOT to do. It forced me to grow more than my previous station. It'll also make me appreciate the next job even more!