KOAT

An Overall Toxic Work Environment

There was so much hope with a new ND starting and this guy has been here for 2 months and already decided he'd rather play boss for the first time in his career and cost the station good people. Sadly the last poster was right on all counts. Reporters need help. Managers misguide them then make them out to be the inept ones. Most nights we call from the field and rarely is there someone on the assignment desk. We get BEAT on so many stories. I see other stations in the field asking about what happened to KOAT? Well , a GM took over who lies to staff and pretends she doesn't know what's happening in the newsroom for the last 2 years. Isn't that her job? Constant revolving door. 2 pkgs a day for reporters because we have no staff. But the station is one step away from something going really wrong because a 22 year old producer was forced into a position without any care. @Hearst may be good in other places but look for even more to quit and leave soon (with contracts).

The ONLY experienced producer was just FIRED for working from home. She didn't feel comfortable with the lack of covid precautions. She produced from home, As a reporter she is the only one who knows how to communicate with field crews. The canned her. So now we are left with a newsroom recent college grads. This place is more like market 140. If you have an opportunity to go to the other stations, take it. They staff their station. Just watch the product. They have more than 1 reporter doing all the shows. And they must have fact checkers, because here, managers are pitiful and abusive and will lie to save themselves.

An Overall Toxic Work Environment

The leadership from Jess to Melissa Williams set a tone of overall incompetence. The EP is uninvolved. There is no training or growth for green producers who have been brought in with no prior experience and can not even booth their shows confidently. The new GM is nonexistent. The rumor is she was a solid newsroom leader once but is a ghost who only cares about issues directly impacting her. KOAT gets crushed daily on coverage.

Reporters are as green as the producers and are expected to turn two pkg’s a day with no editorial guidance and burden the blame of management when something goes wrong.

An Overall Toxic Work Environment

Thank god I left when I did. I had the "pleasure" of working with the worst managers in tv news. Now that I'm in a bigger market I see how people should be treated and how real managers know how to actually run a newsroom. Laughable today that the newsroom shared with former KOAT'ers that Melissa Williams the most clueless and nasty one I worked with is bragging that she was nominated for an emmy on a night we all watched her do nothing but be verbally abusive to staff in the field. Greg Shepperd got fired because he allowed his lying managers to destroy that place and they are still there. Ask any employee past or present how incompetent managers are. Staff takes the heat instead for problems that NEVER should happen. I hear it's no better with the new ND. Only worse. BE careful before working there, Do your homework. The station has the least number of reporters in the market. Constant revolving door. The new ND sounds like an inexperienced bully that says really legally risky things to employees. I know of a few who are ready to bolt with the backing of attorneys. That station has so many great people but noone will be left. there are greener pastures.

I read on FTV Live how there were 20 openings at KOAT. I went to the Hearst website and saw 3 photographer openings. I applied online and directly to Chris Fullam chief photographer. Chris called me and told me that I had too much experience what he cannot afford to pay me and how he loses people to bigger markets or to other jobs in town. I told him I never expect to get paid what I am worth. He wanted to keep in touch and if I had any questions to email him.

I emailed him wanting to know why there are 20 openings and about 30 bad reviews on the Rate My Station and what I read at FTVLive. I wanted to hear his side working there not everything I read on online. In stead of answering me by email he called me. He said, everything you read is true on Rate My Station including the news director Greg Sheppard. There you go! A manager who just validated every review about this station on this website and with that said, you don't need to apply.

You think they were broadcasting from a bedroom community next door to Hell how everybody hates it there. Everybody loved the old GM who retired and are unhappy with the new one. The only thing that was not true was some former photographers listed on this site said they made 45K. I asked if they were there for a long time and retired? Chris said no, they made low 30's.

Chris told me to keep in touch and he would talk to the news director about me. I followed up a week later and he says, Things have been crazy the past few days and I am behind. Duh. Short staffed. He told me he is also doing EP work as well.

I emailed him a few more times and never responded when he said he would. Left messages too.
Followed up a few times after the book and would he would not respond. With my too much experience, I can tell Chris was not inspired what he does and sounded like a malcontent. We talked about shifts and what works for me and he treated me like a number who wants to fill a hole on a schedule. I read how the station does not hire experienced people. Chris sounded like a guy who felt threaten by my too much experience and how my skill-set would truly help compliment and enhance the journalistic integrity of the newscast, when we go out and work as a team and win the story everyday.

An Overall Toxic Work Environment

This newsroom just keeps getting worse. Key reasons, Greg Shepperd and his best friend and assistant ND. Melissa Williams takes hours to approve our scripts and is so nasty to crews in the field. Then if we miss slot we get yelled at and it's because of her. Producers hate when she writes for the shows because she constantly makes mistakes and DOESNT CARE. The best part, we call her from the field and she is GONE everyday during the 5 oclock show. It's a joke in the newsroom to see how eary she cuts out during the worst time of day. Greg isn't much better. Sometimes he pretends to care but doesn't do anything about wrong information and getting facts wrong over the air. They keep hiring producers who have zero experience. More people are leaving and those under contract looking for ways to leave. Everyday an employee has a story about speaking to a lawyer to get out. Managers here do not care and you will take the fall for their constant lies and mistakes. You've been warned. Stay away for awhile,. Take that other offer for now,

There is NO accountability for Greg's managers. Zero. Can't win here.

An Overall Toxic Work Environment

Unorganized doesn't begin to descibe it. The biggest issue is not so much Greg, but the managers he allows to destroy this place. This ongoing joke when we're in the field is, don't call Melissa Williams the Assistant ND after 5:10 because she has left the building, She does. not.care. She pretends to but just lies and takes hours to approve our scripts, then we get in trouble for missing slot. The station has added so many newscasts and not enough qualified people and noone cares what goes on TV, "just fill the time."

The past year has been the worst at this once decent place to work. No longer and no indication it's gonna get better. Managers just lie to cover their own hide and the newsroom is left to clean it up and get blamed for things that should never be happening. Hearst doesn't care. People just keep burning out and leaving. Miserable place to work if you actually care about real journalism.

Oh and their big solution to the hiring fiasco is to hire people who have no actual producer experience. Place is a mess. Stay away for now.