WCIA

An Overall Toxic Work Environment

It was toxic because of the managers and some senior on air talent. They were really hard on producers but gave them very little help. It didn't help the revolving door had been bad because the previous ND and GM were fired over this: https://www.lawofficer.com/cbs-affiliate-angel/ Part of that was the crazy understaffing the newsroom had at times, which got so bad this happened: https://twitter.com/i/status/1518991043076796416 They've lost so many people they have to make hiring videos, such a laugh.

During my time at WCIA I produced at one point or another every weekday show, but was early evenings for the most part (no weekend producers). The station is number one but sort of rests on legacy not because they try the hardest. Instead the market includes Decatur (WAND), 40 miles away, and Springfield (WICS) 70 miles away it's a really fragmented market for ratings.

Almost everybody on air besides Jen and Jess (evening anchors) are new to the market or the business and are under 30. Why they can't keep talent is management and cheap ass Nexstar. I was offered a raise while there for 52 cents which was taken away by a 14 percent rise in company health insurance but it was still better than the 25 cent raise others were given.

The GM is new and he is unreliable so be very careful, shockingly HR is great, I loved Christina, she is kind and helpful and because some people aren't nice to her she goes out of her to way to be nice if you are kind back and take the time to respect her.

Now for the good stuff. Andy is a great ND in news judgment and producing, but pretends that WCIA is a great place to work and a kind and supportive one, which is a joke. He really could be nicer and more understanding.

Maggie the Assistant ND can be best described by this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2q1AlByuNc

But otherwise mean and whiny. If she had to produce, you never stopped hearing her complain about it. Great at running the assignment desk when she wasn't off or actually answered the phones. Also was really good at insulting me and making me feel bad.

Scott the EP (who produced the 6pm) is a great producer but wasn't the most understanding person to work with. He was the longest tenured manager but just was disappointing.

Most of the sports people are good, and so are two of the mets, the other two are total nightmares.

Karina is a stand out anchor, she is really good and does try to help when you ask. Matt is a good reporter not a great anchor but does try. The morning show despite being four hours is an afterthought. No reporter for over a year and had one anchor (Karina) for mornings and noon for a few months. Also they once asked one person to produce all four hours of the morning show solo! Even weekends had more reporters, and the weekend morning show, have fun anchoring, producing, editing and doing digital for it, that's why nobody wants it and a met had to anchor it.

Weekday evenings are the main shows, 5, 6, 9 and 10. The strongest anchors and the few reporters left. Renee is the best reporter there, she can anchor, report, edit, produce, MMJ and be a one woman investigative department, she's the best. The reporters do work hard but have a lot on their plates. They do get a photog on weekdays (most of the time) but rarely on weekends. So a lot more MMJ there at times. Expect as a reporter to turn a PKG and a separate VOSOT but sometimes the same story on the same day.

Now back to producing there, have fun reading your whole rundown in the afternoon meeting, so stressful and if you don't know it perfectly they will get angry.

Be careful of the Regina George in sheep's clothing, Cassandra, the digital EP. She smiles to your face but tells you how to do your job and if you challenge her she will go to management. She's a former producer who fills in. She is a good producer but she interferes so much and is really mean.

WCIA has pretty much given up on producers with experience along with reporters, now they resort to hiring local university of Illinois recent graduates. That's all they can get.

Now for the evening anchors, Jess is really talented, she can anchor multiple shows and produce one in the same day without breaking a sweat, not a big fan of her personally but I respect her. Mac (Macleod), just as talented as Jess but used to make me feel guilty if I asked for help and tried to take credit for my shows. Jennifer is the market legend, I learned a lot from her, she is really talented but could be a diva and sometimes so harsh, but I still respect her.

Now for the worse part, if they don't like you at WCIA don't get your hopes for moving up. The 9 and 10pm shows opened up twice and I was passed over both times (despite a year of experience). They want a kiss ass for those shows, especially when I was passed over for a brand new producer. It was my dream shows and despite regularly filling in meant nothing to them. They want producers who aren't willing to try something new besides a different camera shot.

Champaign is a great place when concerts happen, you must go to the Canopy Club in Urbana. You make poor money there so hit up Salt and Light in Champaign and Urbana, great clothes super cheap. The library book sale in Champaign at the main library literally across from the station is amazing and affordable. But the winters suck and you will hate your life, I had to get my car towed out twice from my parking spot due to ice. Also renting sucks, they either charge too much for a place without a private bathroom or too little for almost nothing, search carefully and look where the U of I students look at on Facebook. Also 99 percent of places require a year long lease. Don't try to live in Decatur or Springfield (unless you are in the bureau), the commute is very long.

WCIA is far from the worse station I have worked for (two are far worse), but I personally won't say to work there. They don't pay well and they burn out producers and they've lost almost all of the experienced ones, only two major pluses, no contract for producers and if you get sick they won't give you a hard time for needing to take time off.

There are just better places you can go to even within the market at this point, better off trying WAND since they got a new ND.