Station's Ratings
News Dirctors
Anchor Job details
Yearly salaryPrefer not to say
ContractDepends
Paired with a photogRarely
Station market rank#2
Alison Coe
Decent. Few bumps in the road.
Racial Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, An Overall Toxic Work Environment
Reporter was banging previous news director. She remained for some time. Same reporter didn’t get along with an anchor so they went to mediation. No one is open to change. Certain people in the newsroom and in the front offices know which employees play which cards. Everyone else falls by the wayside. Vindictive. Not professional by any means u less you’re a handful of evening anchors who are truly genuine while others are just there to be on tv with their best clothes and free gifts from viewers.
Workin 9-to-5. It’s all taking and no giving. Using your mind and they never give you credit. It’s enough to dive you crazy (if you let it).
MMJ (OMB) Job details
Yearly salary$36,000-38,000
Contract2-3 years
Paired with a photogRarely
Station market rank#2
Alison Coe
Alison is very kind and understanding. Very easy to talk to. Not a yeller and doesn't demean employees. I will say there is not a lot of feedback. You have to ask for it. She's not always available when you need her. But overall, very nice news director.
This is a great learning market. We're technically number 2 in the market but we're often neck and neck with the number one station. You will have opportunities for breaking news, all sorts of meetings, and light hearted stories. Management is open to letting you try new things i.e. anchoring. If you're a strong reporter, you'll be rewarded with a larger work load and more responsibility. Not a lot of feedback from management. If you want constructive criticism, you have to ask for it. Main anchors are incredibly kind and helpful. No egos and are always willing to help you become a stronger reporter. The company is VERY slow to hire when someone leaves. We were often understaffed. That can be a little frustrating. BIG sports town. You will have lots of opportunities for fun college sports stories. Overall, I will say I've enjoyed my time here and would recommend this station to someone else.
Anchor Job details
Yearly salaryPrefer not to say
Contract2-5 years
Paired with a photogN/A
Station market rankbetween #1-2
Alison Coe
She is an exceptional listener and takes what her employees have to say seriously. She encourages employee growth and career advancement. She’s level-headed and hard working. Alison is open to feedback and fosters great ideas. She values her employees.
There have been many changes over the last year at WATE. Previous negative comments may have been valid at one time, but not anymore. It is a supportive, encouraging, and overall enjoyable newsroom. The news director encourages a positive work environment and it shows. This is a great newsroom and most employees seem really happy and grateful to be here! The station is building storytelling skills within the photography, producing, and reporting staff. You will get feedback here and are encouraged to grow and learn. It feels like a very exciting time to be at WATE because the team is really trying to build both digital presence and quality storytelling. If you want to work hard and bring new ideas, you’ll do well here. There is also respect for your well being. Several employees have had health issues and have been supported in accommodations and taking necessary time off for appointments. Alison respects and expects hard work while acknowledging the importance of personal time. The long-time evening anchors are awesome. They are total class acts and very hard working. The set is brand new and upgrades are continuous on the historic building. The station is also in a castle, which is really cool.
MMJ (OMB) Job details
Yearly salary$35,000
Contract2 years
Paired with a photogLive Shots Only
Station market rank#2
Alison Coe
Alison is not a supportive news director. She is very unorganized and only makes contact with staff when they've done something not pleasing to her. She definitely picks her favorites, so if you're not one of them, good luck.
Photographer Job details
Yearly salary$37,000
ContractNo
Paired with a photogN/A
Station market rank#2
N/A
An Overall Toxic Work Environment
Reporter had relations with former news director and he was fired. Multiple complaints from multiple people on same reporter causing toxic work environment, nothing done by HR and she is still there. Very bad general manager Coby Cooper. Doesn’t listen to concerns. People feel unsafe working around toxic employee. Glad I left. Get out if you’re still there. For those considering, think again.
Producer Job details
Yearly salary$32,000
Contract2 years
Paired with a photogN/A
Station market rank#2
Allison Coe
Never got to, I worked for the previous news director
An Overall Toxic Work Environment
I was subjected to News-All emails from management embarrassing me, instead of just talking to me face-to-face about my mistakes. Going to HR about those emails was a joke because the guy isn't trained for HR-related issues, he does the finances. I had a co-worker post insulting things about me on his Facebook, and I found out because his privacy settings weren't so great. And have you ever walked into a newsroom and you know the staff is talking about you? That happened a lot. Plus, I got constantly overlooked for other opportunities. What ultimately made me leave is (after working there for 2 years) when I learned my father got diagnosed with a serious, debilitating disease and I told the then-news director, he only gave me a 1-800 number to call. No, "I'm sorry" no compassion, no thanks. How do you expect to retain employees when you can't be sympathetic when devastating personal news strikes their families? I realized I deserved better, so I left.
Apply to the NBC-Affiliate. Don't go here.
