Station's Ratings
News Dirctors
Web Producer Job details
Yearly salary
Contract2 years
Paired with a photogN/A
Station market rank#1
Matt Kummer
He is very engaging during meetings and has more of a hands-off approach during newscasts.
This is a great, award-winning station to work for. There is a very talented team that young journalists can learn from. I loved working here!
Matt Kummer
Matt Kummer has a great first impression. I remember thinking how lucky I was to score a job with this new director – he’s smart, witty, and easygoing. Well, boys and girls, first impressions are deceiving. Matt Kummer makes promises he cannot, or will not, keep. Countless times I’ve heard him tell people in the newsroom, myself included, one thing – and do the exact opposite. As reporters, your pitches are worthless. “Why would you do a story on that?” (You’re defeated, your pitch is nothing. Then, several days later, he pitches the EXACT SAME STORY as if it were his own brilliant idea.) As producers, your stacking is incorrect. Your leads are weak – if he bothers to look at the rundown. Often, he sends emails to the newsroom, saying, “we need get to this!” or “we need to confirm this!” not realizing we’ve already sent a push alert – and switched a reporter to the story. His job as a news director is worthless. We are a sinking ship, without a captain. And don’t get my started on his scheduling. He will switch your off days at will, without telling you. You work dayside? Be prepared to come in at 3:00 a.m. on a random Wednesday. Your family is flying in for the Christmas holiday? Don’t worry, you’re suddenly working overnight all week long. You work at 2:00 p.m. regularly? There is no regularly. Come in at 11:00 a.m., on a moment’s notice, please. If there is some sort of confrontation, you will not hear it from him. You may receive a passive aggressive email, that will demean your soul, but he will never say anything to your face. You will never hear a “good job” or be appreciated for the way you bust your ass. For your news director is not a director at all.
Sexual Discrimination, An Overall Toxic Work Environment
I am a smart person, who happens to be female. Coincidentally, a female reporter leads our newsroom, racking in top awards annually, and getting our station inside information before most any other station has it. But because I happen to have a certain body part, categorizing me as female, I believe my news director struggles to speak to me. He may be socially awkward with men, but with women it's a whole different story. He will walk right by your desk, and not say a word, but email you everything you did wrong in a story. It's honestly just uncomfortable. As far as an "Overall Toxic Work Environment," what news station isn't? But, here at WBAY, your hard work WILL go unnoticed. Because you are able to produce, shoot, and report? You're not valued. You are taken advantage of. If you have a good work ethic, you will be worked to the bone, turning stories for as many shows as they can find a place for you. Many of us face metal instability because of this newsroom -- but there is never an appropriate time for a breakdown. You are treated as a number. A head. You fill a role. But you are not a person.
This station is terrible with communication. I know that's our field, but for some reason, we're lacking in that department.
You're a reporter and there's breaking news? Management will suddenly decide you're live in the 4:00, 5:00 and 6:00 -- and NOT tell you. They won't even tell you you're switched to that story.
You're a producer and there's breaking news? You won't know your reporter has been switched to the story either! Suddenly you're supposed to be leading with this brand new information, but you have no idea there's a situation at hand. No email has been sent, phone call has been made. You're supposed to magically know of this change.
Recently, our station was bought by Gray, and several cuts were made. Our news director did not sit us all down, and explain corporate cutbacks. Instead, he sent an email. "Hey, your good friend has been fired. Oh and by the way, you're all MMJ's now."
These new changes do not benefit us at all. Reporters are told they're supposed to shoot for OTHER reporters, potentially their own live shots. Producers are pulling double duty, editing, producing and potentially even helping with web. Photographers, well, the five of you that are left, are being pulled in 100 directions, as each reporter yearns for help with their mounting stories.
The moral of the story is: our station is a legacy. We are number one, and have been number one for years. But it doesn't feel like it anymore. We are slowly seeing it all fade away. And honestly, with the way we're being treated, we don't care.
Matt Kummer
The most incompetent, lazy and socially awkward man I have ever met in my life
An Overall Toxic Work Environment
This is the number one station in the market, with several outstanding veteran journalists working there. However, since the news director Matt Kummer took over a few years ago it has gone downhill. He has a hard time separating what he personally finds interesting, from what stories should be covered. New reporters will rarely get to work with a photographer. Producers will have their shows rearranged, rewritten or have new liveshots added without being told. People will have their jobs changed at his whim. You were hired as a web producer? Well, we need an editor, so that's your full-time job now. The news director will also routinely lie to candidates in order to get them in the door. I've seen him promise new reporters they will have a photographer every day and the chance to fill-in anchor, and then never deliver. I've seen him promise producers they would be doing one show, then changing his mind on their first day of work. The news director is also socially awkward to the point that he avoids talking with people whenever possible, and never really has an idea about what people are actually covering or really doing all day. He spends the majority of his time in his office watching baseball, looking at google maps (for some reason) online shopping, and having loud personal conversations with his wife with the door open.
