KOAA

An Overall Toxic Work Environment

I worked overnights and was frequently told I’d be moving dayside and never did. I was also told I’d be moving to the Springs station from Pueblo and that never happened.

Reading these reviews of my old station made me kind of sad. I really can’t believe that Elaine is still there. She brings the most toxicity to the newsroom. She is so rude especially to newcomers. I think she expects them to have the same knowledge of the area that she does even though she’s been there her whole life. She craps all over their ideas even if they are good and on brand. It’s horrible for journalists who take their jobs seriously. It’s not New York. Let people learn, they are still young and eager. Just bc she is so miserable and not going anywhere doesn’t mean she has to make others feel the same way.

On the other hand, this station has usually hired great talent. Main anchor Rob has been there awhile and is great. He has a certain dry sense of humor but that’s appreciated in most newsrooms. He’s very knowledgeable about the area and what’s important. From my time there he was patient with younger reporters and producers especially if he could tell they were serious about news and doing it right.

It's a good place to be in terms of the market itself and working your way to a bigger market with better pay. A lot of the reporters make their way to Denver. However, there's a few bad apples in management that are weighing the station down and having new talent run to the nearest exit. Also, some managers have gained a reputation for trying to hook up with multiple people in the newsroom which tend to make things a bit awkward. Overall, don't work here if you thrive off positive feedback.

An Overall Toxic Work Environment

I am refraining from giving away any identifying information about who I am or what my job is at the station, because I know our vindictive managers not only read these reviews, but they also admittedly write fake positive ones and retail items against those they believe are responsible for the very accurate negative ones. I will also likely be putting in my resignation soon and do not want to be identified just yet. But suffice it to say they’ll be shocked if and when I do. I have watched as this once shining example of how a newsroom should be run has gone completely downhill. As other reviews have accurately pointed out, it all started with the former GM Evan Pappas. He cared about the bottom line and the bottom line only. He went through several news directors before he found his yes man in Ryan Hazelwood. For the past few years, since Ryan Hazelwood took the reigns, it’s been a downward spiral of negativity, toxicity, and straight up bullying. Since Scripps bought us, he has been doing all he can to kiss the asses of Scripps’ corporate leaders and let them know he’ll do anything they say, even if it comes at the expense of his employees. As long as Ryan Hazelwood is in charge of this place, I would recommend staying well clear of here. And others have taken note of this. In just the last six months or we have lost: -Two producers who didn’t even make it a year -Two digital reporters who barely made it a year -Three reporters, one who made it a little over a year, one who made it a little less than a year, one who finished out their contract and left. -An EP who only made it a little over a year in that role -A fantastic photog who had only been here a couple years -Our beloved main anchor who management stabbed in the back and replaced with a washed up former anchor of another station in town who was not anymore well known than our (much better) anchor that they pushed out. Of all those people, only two are still in the business, and are much better off now than they were here. The rest, understandably, have been scared off from ever taking a job in TV news again. That’s what working at KOAA will do for you. Congratulations Ryan Hazelwood! You’re ruining this industry by scaring off good talent, and I’m the next one to go! Scripps, if you’re reading this, do yourself a favor and show Ryan and his cronies the door.

Stay away! Work at KRDO (they’ve gotten much better since all the negative reviews in here, they’ve totally cleaned house) or KKTV or Fox 21!

An Overall Toxic Work Environment

Management doesn’t know how to treat people as humans. Editorial meetings are like a demolition derby. The Assignment Editor is large and in charge and doesn’t take dissenting opinions lightly, unless they come from someone who has worked there longer than her (which are few and far between). Reporters are routinely told their ideas are crap… often being told to leave the meeting and come back with a “real” story idea… unless their name is Bill Folsom… he gets to do whatever he wants for some reason. Producers have no power. If managers want a reporter to do a 2:30 package on a lemonade stand in Fountain, they make you squeeze it into your show. Also all the stories are fluff. If you want to do serious news this is absolutely not your place. At one point, the ND banned PIOs from being interviewed. Needless to say that didn’t last. They don’t recognize talent. The two most recent producers hired lasted less than a year. Both got jobs outside of news after they left. They drove out one of the most talented reporters I’ve ever met after he was only here a year, and currently treat our other most talented reporter like garbage. They don’t give two shits if you’re good at your job. If you don’t fall in line with their BS, you’re on their shit list.

I think the toxicity all started from the top with the old GM who just got promoted within Scripps. Time will tell if things can get better under the new one, but I think as long as the ND and Assignment Editor are who they are things will only get worse. Especially since the new GM has already worked at the station for years (he used to be head of sales).

The AND is new and to be honest I don’t really have much to say about her either way. She seems like she’s still trying to find her place and just defers to the ND.

There are some bright spots. The recently-promoted EP is a nice guy who is open to giving you constructive feedback and actually has producing experience to know what he’s talking about. He pretty much sticks to working with the producers. He knows his place and doesn’t bother trying to manage people he doesn’t have the expertise to manage.

Digital director is an all around great guy who tries to stay out of the toxicity too.

The producers and MMJs are all awesome people and so are the anchors, but they’re dropping like flies.

Wow. I have worked at KOAA and other stations and I have been very fortunate. KOAA is outstanding. The culture is supportive. People including coworkers and management care about me as a person. There are a lot of charges issued in the last post that are unfair, malicious, and simply untrue. There is a phrase, “there are two sides to every story.” In this case the two sides are truth and fiction.