Decent First Job - Producer KION-TV Employee Review

I worked for KION for 3 years, learned a lot and had a lot of fun. Its a larger crew of people working throughout the departments and the company does a good job of hiring people that are hard working but also fun to work with. It's a low news market, so it is also a training ground for a lot of the employees. This training ground also allows for some experimentation and testing of the limits of skills, which you might not be able anywhere else. The Central Coast is a beauty place with some of the nicest weather in the world.

The owners of the company pushed for "do more with less" and a "one man band" style. It is very hard, and sometimes impossible, to complete all the work given in a 40 hour work week. Overtime was paid, but grudgingly and sometimes with repercussions. The other problem with business model was more mistakes are made. When a job used to take 5 people and now it has been shaved down to 2 people, the job becomes overly stressful and rushed. One of the biggest cons of this job is the pay, its way too low. The central coast is one the most expensive places to live in the country and the owners come from places that are much cheaper. So they don't see the need to raise the wages.

The lack of staff and the extreme demands put on everyone means that everybody bands together. Generally speaking, your co-workers want to see you succeed and will have your back when push comes to shove.

Management does NOT care about the employees. Many if not most newsroom employees are making near minimum wage and are asked to do the jobs of multiple people due to the fact that the station is incredibly short staffed. Management is willing to push people to the break point and pay them as little as possible if it means they get the show on the air--nevermind that the shows are often full of mistakes because people are stretched so thin. The worst part is that I have seen multiple people be harmed due to management's negligence.