Pros
There are some (I would stress "some") smart, effective people. The problem is few (like, one) is in a position of power, and even that person still looks out for No. 1 more times than not. The company closes for two weeks a year (Christmas and the Fourth). You get an additional 10 days to do with as you please, so that's good. It's a bit rigid as you're forced to plan vacations at certain times, but there are worse problems to deal with. The client base is fun to work with as it's a travel/tourism group, so interacting with them is generally a highlight.
Cons
The president/owner/CEO is, to put it kindly, difficult. He so desperately wants to be liked by his employees and to be "one of the guys," but his social skills touch on the autism spectrum. Frankly, he's awkward. I don't know if he knows this, but he is, and he's a young CEO/President and his total lack of experience shows at every turn. The issue with the owner is he doesn't understand he comes off as a silver spooner playing CEO more than an actual CEO. There needs to be a more structured organization (a COO is a desperate need). The problem is the owner can't handle letting a seasoned veteran run things because that would mean being told his ideas weren't up to snuff. He can't handle that at all. There needs to be someone to run the business while the CEO goes off to ideate or whatever buzzword he undoubtedly uses. Another reviewer touched on some of the less-than ethical business practices, which is spot on. The company likes to tell employees (often, ad nauseum) how family-centric and "do-right" it is, but they don't practice what they so often preach. There are some good, quality products CME puts out (the Marketplace events, for example) but so much more (90% of the print offerings) are useless and borderline highway robbery (and everyone at the company knows it). CME is lucky the clients have governmental budgets that they essentially have to spend or it goes away. If any clients cared to look over the ROI instead of rubber stamping an ad buy their heads would explode. The environment is so toxic it's laughable. The turnover is abysmal. It's not normal for any company of any size. It boggles the mind, actually. It varies from department just how bad it is (marketing, for example, has become an office-wide joke) but it touches every department. Compensation is below average across the board except for the sales directors, who make silly money doing the same thing it's done forever. PDT (planner development) is an integral department treated like second class citizens from almost everyone in the company. It's sad. Editorial has been cut almost in half and it feels like more cuts are coming. Interns (cheap labor FTW!) is how the president wants to operate. The sales team runs around as if the building is on fire at every turn in fear they'll be fired. The office could become a hit sitcom if in the proper hands. It really is that bad. Most of us joke about it while looking for other jobs.