KULR

An Overall Toxic Work Environment

At the time of my employment, a group of news anchors and reporters, most of whom came from the same journalism school, formed a cartel of sorts to bully other news reporters who did not come from their school. I was belittled by them and subjected to a smear campaign.

An Overall Toxic Work Environment

I was contacted for a newscast producer position. The news director, Mr. Phillip Ohnemus is also on Indeed.com regularly and was not happy that KULR did not win any Emmy awards this year. This news director has insulted entry-level candidates who really want to be a reporter / multi-media journalist (MMJ). Mr. Phillip Ohnemus recently contacted me for a job interview at KULR and said that he doesn't want any "introverted, awkward, loner, shy, and wallflower people" in his newsroom and in the journalism industry. When I told Mr. Phillip Ohnemus that my true journalism endeavor is to be a multi-media journalist (MMJ), Mr. Phillip Ohnemus said that "newscast producers cannot be a multi-media journalist (MMJ) and will not be successful in this venture at his station." Mr. Phillip Ohnemus also felt I was not vocal enough to contribute to anything his newsroom and at KULR-8, and that I am just an "awkward, loner, wallflower" person. It is known that it is an "image business," but do not make entry-level candidates feel discourage that they are "unattractive," "ugly," and not "pretty enough." Mr. Phillip Ohnemus does not truly understand or know how difficult is for any entry-level job candidate to find his or her first television news job at a small market station. KULR-8 and its sister affiliates across the state of Montana, KFBB, KWYB, KTMF, and Cowles Montana Media Company (Cowles Company), must give all entry-level candidates the opportunity to learn all roles in a newsroom regardless of any news positions the candidates is being hired for and to prove the news director (Mr. Phillip Ohnemus), entire news staff, and newsroom management personnel wrong. If an entry-level producer candidate really wants to be an MMJ in an entry-level starter-market station like yours, give them a chance and give them real, truthful and actual help. Do not discourage entry-level candidates telling them that they cannot do anything and cannot be successful in anything, especially in a starter-market station. Help them to be a news reporter / MMJ, especially if newscast producing is not what he or she wants to do for the rest of their entire TV news career. Give entry-level candidates from all walks of life, all backgrounds of life, including candidates with learning differences/learning disabilities, a real chance and a real opportunity to be a multi-media journalist (MMJ). Do not put them down. Help entry-level newscast producers who truly want to be MMJs, be MMJs. There are entry-level newscast producers out there that do not want be a producer for the rest of their life and have no desire for newsroom management. Show all entry-level candidates respect! Give everyone an equal, decent, fighting chance and an opportunity to be an MMJ.

I was contacted for a newscast producer position. The news director, Mr. Phillip Ohnemus is also on Indeed.com regularly and was not happy that KULR did not win any Emmy awards this year. This news director has insulted entry-level candidates who really want to be a reporter / multi-media journalist (MMJ). Mr. Phillip Ohnemus recently contacted me for a job interview at KULR and said that he doesn't want any "introverted, awkward, loner, shy, and wallflower people" in his newsroom and in the journalism industry. When I told Mr. Phillip Ohnemus that my true journalism endeavor is to be a multi-media journalist (MMJ), Mr. Phillip Ohnemus said that "newscast producers cannot be a multi-media journalist (MMJ) and will not be successful in this venture at his station." Mr. Phillip Ohnemus also felt I was not vocal enough to contribute to anything his newsroom and at KULR-8, and that I am just an "awkward, loner, wallflower" person. It is known that it is an "image business," but do not make entry-level candidates feel discourage that they are "unattractive," "ugly," and not "pretty enough." Mr. Phillip Ohnemus does not truly understand or know how difficult is for any entry-level job candidate to find his or her first television news job at a small market station. KULR-8 and its sister affiliates across the state of Montana, KFBB, KWYB, KTMF, and Cowles Montana Media Company (Cowles Company), must give all entry-level candidates the opportunity to learn all roles in a newsroom regardless of any news positions the candidates is being hired for and to prove the news director (Mr. Phillip Ohnemus), entire news staff, and newsroom management personnel wrong. If an entry-level producer candidate really wants to be an MMJ in an entry-level starter-market station like yours, give them a chance and give them real, truthful and actual help. Do not discourage entry-level candidates telling them that they cannot do anything and cannot be successful in anything, especially in a starter-market station. Help them to be a news reporter / MMJ, especially if newscast producing is not what he or she wants to do for the rest of their entire TV news career. Give entry-level candidates from all walks of life, all backgrounds of life, including candidates with learning differences/learning disabilities, a real chance and a real opportunity to be a multi-media journalist (MMJ). Do not put them down. Help entry-level newscast producers who truly want to be MMJs, be MMJs. There are entry-level newscast producers out there that do not want be a producer for the rest of their life and have no desire for newsroom management. Show all entry-level candidates respect! Give everyone an equal, decent, fighting chance and an opportunity to be an MMJ.

An Overall Toxic Work Environment

Cowles HR department is disgusting and unprofessional- victim-blaming and no regard for safety of staff

will make you work overtime with no pay. DO NOT WORK FOR COWLES

An Overall Toxic Work Environment

While I was there, the main male anchor made his female counterpart so uncomfortable. It put the newsroom in a weird position because he would literally not talk to her, even if she talked to him. He did this in front of everyone and was never reprimanded. She was eventually pushed out the door. They never let any reporters anchor a newscast while I was there. If they're going to pay you $10.10 an hour, they should at least let you on the desk. They opted several times to have the sports reporter anchor newscast over people in the news department. There was also a hometown hero who worked there that thought he knew how to do everything. A lot of the locals who work there view people from out of state as outsiders. They show it in not so subtle ways. Smile in your face, but definitely talk behind your back in Facebook messages. They aren't the brightest lot. Left the messages up. They hired some crazy woman to weekend anchor who could barely put a camera on a tripod. She was useless as a reporter unless she was going live and had a photographer. The station only had two. They also launched a statewide morning show while I was there and poured a lot of resources into it. A former anchor in the market, who was a beauty queen at one point, came to anchor it. She was catty and treated the main female evening anchor poorly. Talked about her clothes and a sponsorship she had at a local store.

I'm sure not much has changed besides the managers. Main male anchor is still there and he seems to have hit it off nicely with the new female anchor that moved from the morning show to evenings.

Get your start there, then leave. Don't stay within the company and go to KHQ in Spokane. I hear it's not much better despite the nice market jump. Terrible pay for MMJ's.

Leave Cowles Company.

An Overall Toxic Work Environment

This market is 170, so be prepared to do everything yourself with no help. It’s management like this that drives the talent pool to dry up so they resort to job recruiting at job fairs with people who don’t have college degrees because everyone is leaving. All the bosses care about is getting the content as quickly as they can with no regards to good quality. I have been sent out in below freezing weather, by myself just for the sake of doing a live shot even if it adds no value to the story. Many reporters have left KULR early and broken their contracts due to terrible management of the company and poor pay.