WDTV

An Overall Toxic Work Environment

News Director doesn't know how to lead a newsroom. Morning meetings are not productive and it feels like he judges you rather than guide you while pitching a story. Focuses mostly on national stories and wants you to "localize" it in a very sensationalist way. He mostly wants MOS in all the stories. He sends MMJ's to local mall or Walmart parking lot to find people. Example of this: he assigns a national story or a story published from the statewide online newspaper and wants local reaction. He also decides to change your story while you're halfway into your interviews of the day and doesn't let producers know about those changes. He doesn't read through people's work before showtime, yet if there's a mistake while he's anchoring, he would communicate with you with thousand emails or texts than rather in person. He over dramatizes weather stories. He has no experience in other markets.

Station's management knows about all of this but don't do anything about it, yet they protect him. Aside from that, other MMJ's and producers are great and we're all trying to survive. Most are counting the days until their contract ends.

News director does not know how to do his job. He shows up to work at 11:00 am, leaves all afternoon, and then runs into the studio, while shaving, five minutes before air time. He does not provide any helpful skills or tips to further your career. He always picks on the new reporters and makes them feel like they are stupid. His idea of news is having his reporters interview people in Walmart parking lots. The newsroom cameras or cars never work. He is obsessed with weather related stories. If there are a few rain drops outside he demands that we go into severe weather mode and every story must be about weather. He dramatizes everything and likes to scare our viewers. He might be a decent person outside of work, but he has no idea how to do his job. This is the only station he has ever worked at in his entire career.

An Overall Toxic Work Environment

Constantly pulled off stories to go ambulance chasing for pointless accidents/fires. News director often leaves right after the morning meeting and doesn't come back until just before show time. Focused on the national sensationalism rather than reporting on local stories that people actually care about.

Besides the news director, I met some of the best people in the business that I remain friends with to this day! Honestly, North Central WV is one of the best starter markets when it comes to networking.