reporter

account executive

press operator

page

warehouse worker

MediaNews Group

What is the best part of working at the company?
The long drives were pretty nice.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The fact that there was barely any staff left when I joined and after we lost a few more people more and more jobs kept being piled on top of the handful of us. The hurried pace, the deadlines... it all added up.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment was minimal for a largely overnight shift, there was a shell of its former structure remaining but it felt like it was getting ready to be shut down.

Being the only person the company had to do any daytime tasks in addition to my graveyard shift made for some really long days.

There was hardly any culture left, when there was only 7 employees  when I joined and it dropped down to 5 employees after only 2 months, it was pretty much just get in and do the job for the night then go home. 

The Covid 19 Pandemic pretty much made it so that people barely even came into the office during the days anymore. Half the work could be done from home computers.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Most of the week, I would fulfil my role as DSA (District Service Advisor). 
I would drive to the office at 10:30 pm. Check for emails, paperwork, check on customer complaints, printouts, clear old papers, then head to the garage. Upon arriving I would wait for papers to be brought in. Then we would unload, by hand, pallet jack, or forklift as necessary. We'd sort papers into piles for our carriers, as they came in. Then I'd sort the remaining papers and label them for our customers before dropping them off at the post office. 
I would then wrap up papers and deliver them to some of our customers on the remaining routes. I would drive back to the garage, lock up for the night, head back to the office, check the computer for any last-minute emails or news. Put in my time and leave. Usually around 7 AM.

There would occasionally be other tasks that would require me to do things during normal business hours and I would have to figure out some scheduling to get those done. But those weren't typical days.

On Mondays I also acted as a Driver.
I would show up to the office around 3:00 PM. Grab papers, grab slugs for the paper machines for some of our carriers, clear out papers, make sure the days printouts were printed correctly. If they weren't I would have to go into the systems to print/ reprint them. Then I would drive to the garage at CR and drop off my supplies, get keys and switch to the delivery vehicle.  Then usually around 4 PM I would then begin my drive to Lakeport or Ukiah, about 150-170 miles south.

Once at the meeting spot, I would pick up the papers from the other driver, somewhere between 8-9 PM. Then I would turn around and drive back. Usually getting back somewhere between Midnight - 1 AM depending on weather and traffic.
I would then drop off the papers, sort them for our carriers, sort and label the mail then drop it off at the post office. Then I would go back to the office, put in my time and go home.

Exciting newsroom and advertising sales office atmosphere, phone telemarketing, digital ad training, interfacing with creative artists writers and editors. Great sales associates and talented managers, tough one on ones evaluations and constant management pressure to convert print accounts to digital.   
Appointment setting and outside sales calls to new prospects and servicing existing client base / accounts. 
Conducting client interview and probe analysis / making sales presentations to meet advertising needs within set budget / meet clients who advertise to go over dashboard / performance tracking
Pitch new advertising sales promotions / place insertion schedules / enter advertising orders  in computer system / attend  training sessions + sales meetings to report weekly revenue + discuss plan to make sales goals. Consult with managers to customise  multi-media ad campaigns. 
Keep up with customer relations + servicing / drop off newspapers, specialty print pieces & magazines etc. Constantly cold call + phone prospecting to feed new lead sales pipeline  + appt. setting

My primary role at DFM was to create products for multimedia companies throughout the United States. First, understanding the need, followed by P&L and complete understanding of ROI and sales opportunity. I would then work closely with SVP of Sales to determine priorities. The planning stage began with determining requirements (with insight from our Business Analyst), followed by a true Agile process of writing stories to outline each development task and then grooming those stories with our development team. We worked in 2 week sprint cycles. We conducted retrospectives to understand what we could have done better...what worked great, etc. I also conducted demos at the end of each sprint to show the field and sales leads what we accomplished. I loved how closely I was able to work with sales, as this helped determine priorities and gained buy-in early in the process from key stakeholders. In addition, working closely with other stakeholders, such as UX for design, ecommerce, ad trafficking, and SEO experts, broadened my knowledge and understanding of how to build and implement successful products.

Beware if you are applying for Accounts Receivable Specialist. You will be given very little training for the daily expected tasks.  The only way to get a raise is to move to the 12-9pm shift, become a supervisor,  or change departments. They do not give performance reviews and raises for a job well done. There is very high turnover because of this and they now hire through temp agencies because they cannot keep employees. If you have no experience, this is a good place to start. If you are looking for a job with advancement, do not apply. The employees who are kind and hard working leave because they are not appreciated so you are left with rude and unhelpful coworkers. Company is owned by Alden Global Capital who buys bankrupt newspapers and lays off majority of staff and leaves few people to do the job of many. They have purchased Tribune Publishing in 2021 and are laying off Shared Services dept. in TX and adding the work to those in Willoughby, OH...with no raises.

My passion for this job drove me everyday and I truly love what I did at the company, which made me want to go above and beyond in my work. That was until I found out they would rather give an unproven new hire $4,000 more a year on a job posting.

When I pointed it out for a raise, they continuously delayed  with 'we will look into it' and never gave me a definitive answer.

I never felt more disrespected in my life and this singlehandedly ruined my passion for it. I can feel it every time I cover an event. I no longer go out of my way to do my job better, because I think "What's the F-ing point?"

I always wonder why so many people were lazy. After this experience, now I know why.

Apparently, they CARE MORE about the NEW PEOPLE than people that are with the company.

IF you work for them, do NOT stay for longer than 3-5 years. Build your network, prioritize your well-being, get your experience and leave.

The culture stinks, and the management is poor. They lack structure and true guidance. In the few years that I was there my manager never once went out on a visit with me, there is no real mentoring, and the targets are ambiguous. 

There is a boys club there so the boys in the club get a good opportunity, and inherit the best clients when others leave. They have poor billing and collections practices. When the client doesn't pay a bill because they get hit with a $30,000 bill all at once instead of over several months as agreed they come after the salesperson to get the commission back.

The culture there is depressing, and there is nothing fun, or enjoyable about working here. They drive your customer campaigns into the ground and are fundamentally stealing from these customers. Over my entire time with the company I can not think of one successful campaign that was managed by this group.

The money is good, but that was the only thing I enjoyed.

I was laid off after being at one of their small papers for over nineteen years. Over the years I turned down other job offers because I liked the people I worked with (co-workers, not managers, mostly). And I kept hoping things would get better. The pay was lousy and benefits were getting worse every year. I was paying $500 a month for a married couple, plus co-pays etc. Still, it was a job. 

Until it wasn't, because they killed my position. Or eliminated, as they put it. That's what they said anyway. I think it was because the new minimum wage for supervisors was more than I was making and they would have had to give me a huge raise!

If you hire on with these guys, don't expect raises (I got only one in my last ten years there), performance reviews (also one in ten years), or management that cares about you, except for a rare few. They don't get training in how to relate to people, so if they didn't get it elsewhere, watch your back.

Work culture amongst coworkers was great for the most part. There were a few bad eggs but never enough to make me want to leave.
Direct operation managers were also professional, courteous, and helpful... whats bad is the people above them.
Those (department managers) who oversee the managers of each operation, are moneyhungry, bootlicking lapdogs that will do anything to appease their shadow-y hedgefund overlords. They micromanage, scold, and overall just shove employee morale down the drain... and what's funny is they won't even understand what they're picking you apart over.
Incompetent leadership and a refusal to innovate will lead Digital First to its early grave.

The culture is toxic and a double standard is persistent. 

A few employees who work the hardest are expected to pick up the slack and constantly accept new responsibilities. Those who do the least are given a free pass, antagonize others, and are never held accountable.

There is no job security, layoffs are seemingly a constant, and positions are either not backfilled or are intentionally delayed. 

Responsibilities are constantly shifting, again, to a select few who are the most overworked already. There is no support from senior managers, who work only to serve their own self-preservation and best interest. It is an environment where every person is fighting for themselves.

I sell marketing service from Digital First Media suite of products to small,mid and large businesses this process requires,cold calling,preparing proposals,face to face presentations with C level executives,confrence call presentation,market reasearch,ROI calculations,time managment,needs analysis

My manager is very supportive and makes sure I have all the resources I need to be successful.
The overall work environment is nice my co-workers are pleasant and helpful.

The hardest part of my job is getting the decision maker on the phone.

The most enjoyable part of my job is connecting with pepole and helping them find the right media mix to help their business grow.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Reporter 68 salaries reported	$24.77 per hour
Account executive 23 salaries reported	$25.65 per hour
Press operator 47 salaries reported	$22.96 per hour
Page 14 salaries reported	$17.68 per hour
Warehouse worker 22 salaries reported	$15.13 per hour

Working at MediaNews Group: Company Overview and Reviews

MediaNews Group

MediaNews Group Ratings

Popular jobs at MediaNews Group

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected