Station's Ratings
News Dirctors
Barb Roethler
Horrible. She’s manipulative, conniving, sends empty emails and expects you to guess what she wants. will ask you if you knocked on someone’s door for ratings. Ethics out the window for her. She really does not care. Get everything in writing. Everything and start documenting everything because she’ll do the same for you and have it ready whenever she feels like you overstepped you’re boundaries or challenges her authority.
An Overall Toxic Work Environment
Not open to creative control, you’re not allowed to tell her or the EP Jeff no. Jeff also has anger issues. If he has a bad day EVERYONE has to have a bad day. She’ll also send a million emails in one day and add on to your daily tasks as she pleases randomly and for reason. She also leaves early nearly every single day. And good luck getting time off.
Just don’t go.
MMJ (OMB) Job details
Yearly salary
Contract2 years
Paired with a photogN/A
Station market rank
Barb Roethler
Beyond unprofessional
An Overall Toxic Work Environment
A wonderful place to toughen ones skin. The overall toxic environment overseen by the News Director is nothing short of despicable. I cannot imagine any other station exists where passive aggressive emails, unrealistic expectations with little time to execute, non existent communication etc. Are allowed to happen for as long as it has with this current news director. Management at the top is quite oblivious or blind to the high turnover and lack of drive this station produces. Not to mention the blatant disregard for reporters time. Especially god forbid if they have to use overtime to achieve the things set out for them. Do not work for WILX. If you have any other offer. Take it!
The best advice I can give is this. If you would like to work at WILX there is only one thing to check. Is Barb Roethler the news director. If yes, do not take it.
Reporter Job details
Yearly salary
Contract2 years
Paired with a photogN/A
Station market rank2
Barb Roethler
Everything is done thru email. its so strange and passive aggressive.
An Overall Toxic Work Environment
Most of the reviews below are accurate. Barb does have good enough news judgement and doesnt get in the way on stories. But good lord, she's a mean person deep down. The turnover at WILX the last 8 months or so was INSANE even by tv standards. An anchor and met let go just because Barb felt like it. A revolving door in the digital department and reporters. People have families but she doesn't care. She'll kick you to the curb. As mentioned in the review below, get anything you can in writing. You won't do what you were told you were hired for. And you'll be grossly underpaid and chasing stories LSJ and WLNS already did. Photogs did most live shots and they seemed to like their boss. You'll have room to grow, but its sink or swim. Guidance and feedback is minimal at best for a sub100 market.
You can do better.
Reporter Job details
Yearly salary
Contract2 years
Paired with a photogN/A
Station market rank#2
Barb Roethler
Horrible. Unpleasant. Moody. Unprofessional. Conniving. Just a bad/miserable human being.
An Overall Toxic Work Environment
Barb was the worst person I have ever worked for. She promised many of us young reporters that we'd get our chance to anchor, do some sport reporting, whatever we wanted, etc.. None of that happened, she lies to bring you in, but once you are in, you'll soon realize it was all lies, it is a shit show. My outfits were scrutinized by her and EP Jeff Proctor, who is the worst human being of ALL-TIME. This guy should not be allowed to work in a news room. He made fellow female colleagues of mine cry because he would yell at them for officials not answering calls, something out of their control. This was something that happened all the time, by the way. He followed me into the room where we got our cameras and threatened to fight me, because we had words over my suit color. I could not believe it. The man definitely has a bipolar disorder. He also took a reporter's keyboard and slammed it on his desk in front of his face, keys flew everywhere, all because his script was "shit." Here is the best part, this was in front of Barb's office. Barb never says a thing about Jeff's tantrums, so good luck going to her LOL. Oh and don't give money to that union, they won't do a thing for you. Also, be prepared to see Barb/Jeff play favorites, they had this one reporter "follow" a dog abuse case for about a month or two, and by follow, she just sat at the station all day, and used left over stock footage each time she pushed a story out, meanwhile all of us were slaving away to turn stuff every day. When I look back, I think of all of the friends I made, BUT I would not recommend this place to my worst enemy.
Again, I would not recommend this place to my worst enemy. This place ruined my whole outlook on Local News, really. All Local News stations are shit, run down, you get paid like crap, but I was hoping that the good would outweigh the bad, but not at WILX. This whole WILX experience was very sad, since I am a Lansing native, and went to MSU, it was just very eye opening.
#FireProctor
Photographer Job details
Yearly salary
ContractTwo and a half years
Paired with a photogN/A
Station market rank
Barb Roethler
She’s not qualified for the position. Bases everything off her emotions instead of what’s best for the company
Reporter Job details
Yearly salary
ContractNo
Paired with a photogN/A
Station market rankbetween 1-2
Barb Roethler
She was very knowledgeable , had good experience. She was pretty easy to talk to. Never yelled or talked down to people. She also didn’t pit up with lazy people or drama.
I had a great experience. I learned a lot from management and people who had been there for awhile. I liked that management didn’t put up with drama . It didn’t matter if they were a reporter, producer , Anchor been there for a long time , it didn’t matter. She treated everyone the same and with respect if they did their job.
