The good ones?

[Caesar]

With all the whining we do about our ND's, GM's, owners, etc., where are the good places to work? I'm curious to see who's actually happy with where they are at, and who is the company that's writing their checks.

[Gil]

Those folks probably aren't here.

[Roy Hobbs]

I've been happy every place I've worked. Some places weren't too happy about my happiness...and that's sad.

http://www.sfgate.com/blogs/images/sfgate/mlasalle/2007/08/01/dale_carnegie.jpg

I believe it was Dale Carnegie in How to Stop Worrying and Start Living quoting Robert Louis Stevenson as saying,

Men can make a Hell out of Heaven, or Heaven out of Hell.

Thus endeth the lesson.

[Bureau Chief]

My last ND was easy to work with for the most part. The newsroom was an exciting place to work where we enterprised stories among ourselves, helped each other out on stories and traded news tips regularly. He is now down south somewhere in a new station...and Im sure his new employees are better off for it.

There ARE some stations where its still a great place to work.

Our present ND, who was a reporter for 20 years before taking on his first management job, has changed all that. People cant wait to leave, there is little team spirit and the atmosphere is absolutley poisonous. We have lost our focus and sense of urgency. Reporters now focus on making sure they dont run afoul of the ND and his agenda rather than finding the deeper stories. I cant wait to leave for my new gig.

I think that a newsroom is a unique workspace where people can feed off each others creativity and a micro-managing dictator type ND can destroy that synergy in seconds. Sorry for the OT rant.

[Reed Street]

WBMA-ABC 33/40 in Birmingham is not a bad place to be. You could do better. But you could also do a lot worse.

Owned by Allbritton. The company is not perfect... but it's far better than the Nexstars and Sinclairs of this industry.

[The Fedora]

WBMA-ABC 33/40 in Birmingham is not a bad place to be. You could do better. But you could also do a lot worse.

Owned by Allbritton. The company is not perfect... but it's far better than the Nexstars and Sinclairs of this industry.

I would agree. I have never worked there but have heard many good things about the station.

[TVNewsLady]

I think the good stations aren't necessarily good because they're managed well all the time. I think it's all about your state of mind and the state of mind of those around you. And as we all know, optimism isn't at the center of most newsrooms.

I work in a decent size market where morale was heinous when I arrived. It may have improved a little since then, but I find that I am the creator of how I feel and how I'm able to handle what they put on my plate. I make a concious effort to come in with a positive attitude. It's not easy after 8 years in the business and seeing really poor attitudes, but it's starting to make a difference in my life.

A positive attitude... or go Belo. That's how you're part of a "Good One."

[southwesternguy]

I think the good stations aren't necessarily good because they're managed well all the time. I think it's all about your state of mind and the state of mind of those around you. And as we all know, optimism isn't at the center of most newsrooms.

I work in a decent size market where morale was heinous when I arrived. It may have improved a little since then, but I find that I am the creator of how I feel and how I'm able to handle what they put on my plate. I make a concious effort to come in with a positive attitude. It's not easy after 8 years in the business and seeing really poor attitudes, but it's starting to make a difference in my life.



I've done the same thing at my station, and it's done wonders for me personally and professionally. I've also been in the business 8 years. A lot of people who work at my station says it sucks. I don't see it that way. I try to come in with a fresh and positive attitude, and it seems to be reciprocated, even by those who are bitter and hate the place.

[Spike]

WBMA-ABC 33/40 in Birmingham is not a bad place to be. You could do better. But you could also do a lot worse.

Owned by Allbritton. The company is not perfect... but it's far better than the Nexstars and Sinclairs of this industry.

Say, isn't that the station that refused to air that Ellen episode with lesbians kissing, because it was immoral and everybody who saw it might turn gay and end up in Hell?

And wasn't it the Allbritton family running Riggs Bank when it got fined $25 million for laundering money for terrorists?

[TVMattNYC]

The people I personally know who are happiest in this industry are those who are working on the network magazine shows ... and in entertainment.

[NotImpressed]

Say, isn't that the station that refused to air that Ellen episode with lesbians kissing, because it was immoral and everybody who saw it might turn gay and end up in Hell?

I don't really judge my happiness at a station based on its syndicated programming choices - I'm more about the newsroom. You decide for yourself about whether the "Full House" episodes help define your level of content.

LOL. If the biggest knock you can find on a station is a preempted Ellen ep, then it must be a damn good newsroom. Keep digging though pal.

[The Mockingbird]

You can make Heaven of Hell all you want, but if people are peeing on you, changing your perceptions isn't going to turn it into rain.

[Reed Street]

Say, isn't that the station that refused to air that Ellen episode with lesbians kissing, because it was immoral and everybody who saw it might turn gay and end up in Hell?

And wasn't it the Allbritton family running Riggs Bank when it got fined $25 million for laundering money for terrorists?
The Ellen episode was 11 years ago. Not a newsroom decision. And it certainly doesn't affect the workplace environment today. In fact, it didn't affect it too much back then either.

The bank issue was something I watched with interest four years ago. But the company leaders are no longer in banking, nor were they charged. Again... no impact on workplace environment today.

The shop is not perfect. But it's not bad either. Managers are generally supportive, and co-workers generally work in a collaborative manner. And in today's media, that's an increasingly rare find.

[Lazlo Toth]

You can make Heaven of Hell all you want, but if people are peeing on you, changing your perceptions isn't going to turn it into rain.

Now we know how your hat became green.