sales consultant

advertising sales representative

sales executive

journalist

Black Press Media Group

Riddle me this: How are you supposed to do better after screwing up, when management refuses to explain what you did wrong beyond the guilt trips and shaming they subject you to for it?

I worked as an editor for literally just the three-month probationary period in a small community in which Black Press had a media footprint. 

The office was squalid and understaffed, the hours were interminable, the workload was unreasonable.

The job was unspeakably stressful, and the day before I was let go I was humiliated in an open group chat in the Slack messenger service for my mistakes in front of an audience of numerous employees not privy to the matter at all.

The reason my superiors decided to shame me, you ask? Aside from what I can only adequately describe as casual malevolence, the fact my reporter and I weren't meeting the daily quota of mandated streaming video enough for management's liking.

Everyone - and I mean literally everyone - above me in the company hierarchy was inimical and snide, and were entirely unhelpful.

One particular higher-up, whose name I will not mention out of nothing but personal discretion, specifically called me up to berate me and shame me for not getting streaming video of a weather event up on the publication's website quickly enough, after a power outage.

There is little (read: almost no) work-life balance, and if you miss anything, from a committee of the whole meeting to a bake sale down the road, the higher-ups will lash out at you in a manner that's entirely adolescent. 

The only remotely tolerable thing about the job I had with Black Press was the pay, but with Black Press' toxic culture, and the imperious, draconian management you're beholden to for 40+ hours of the week (emphasis on that '+'), any salary price point quickly loses its luster.

Work there only if you have no other options. They eat people up and spit out their bones when they are done with them. Five years without a pay-raise and then, when finally one does come around (only under the threat of unionizing) it's full of pennies and empty promises. The upper management there is singularly focused on building relationships with their advertisers, and has forgotten both the reader and those who generate the content (writers, photographers, layout and design -- who btw are generally great people) in the process. Reviews on GlassDoor show nothing good about this co. When I was hired, I brought in over 20+ years experience plus two degrees and a strong fan base to the paper, and they paid me just over minimum wage. Overtime was expected and not compensated, and working on national holidays without compensation (nevermind overtime pay) was simply a given. You were constantly reminded that you were lucky to have a job. They do NOT care about talent or maintaining a relation with their readership (it's a free paper, with no readership opt-in). If you must work there, keep looking for another job. If the employment climate were different and more favourable to job seekers, BlackPress would never attract talent. Most are just there because today's job options are very limited, and the upper management there knows it.

This company undervalues their design staff. Underpaid, paying less for educated graphic designers than Pizza Hut pays their pizza cooks. They literally think that designers are "playing" on the computer.

The staff is great, friendly, very fun to be around but upper management is oblivious to what requirements are needed for those working on the ground floor. Nicknamed the "sweatshop", most designers are unable to take breaks, or lunches due to the department being understaffed. 

Pizza day once a month, but the company doesn't pay for it...

Too many major changes to the programs being used monthly. These changes are made by upper management without discussing them with the design staff. So, a new expensive program is paid for without testing it first, and then management finds that the program has slowed down production in every aspect of the newspaper. Could have been avoided if they simply spoke with their design and sales staff. Management thinks they know design, they don't.

No room to grow as a designer. Very difficult to get a raise / promotion.

Hardest part of the job, deadlines. Understaffed creative department leads to overtime which leads to overworked, unhappy staff. 

Most enjoyable part of the job is the people. The camaraderie is palpable. Great group setting to work in, easy to get along with people who are like minded about upper management.

At Black Press, it's not a matter of, "are you happy with your job" but "be thankful you have a job." 

Whether you are a starting or veteran journalist, do yourself a big favour and look somewhere else for work. Employees (editorial staff in particular) are treated as sub-human savages; underpaid to below the poverty level and overworked to the point that having a life at all is just impossible.

Oh, and there are daily story counts, so if you don't produce at least 20 to 80,000 stories a day (rehashed online garbage of other online garbage) you will be hearing from management. Remember, quantity is key at BP, much like those cheap plastic toys that arrive on shipping containers in the millions every hour. 

Speaking of management. Black Press executives rule like a dictatorship; speak your mind of any concern to ethics, workplace safety or better pay, and you will be humiliated, ignored or punished in some fashion. Seriously, it's like they took leadership notes straight from Stalin's handbook. 

If I had a choice to mine salt in Siberia or work at Black Press, I'd earnestly take salt mining in Siberia in a heartbeat.

I loved my job at Black Press. Yes, I would go back again. However, the biggest problem is unstability. There are a lot of changes going on in that industry and positions were being terminated, like mine. I was in newspaper for 27 years. In the space of one year 2015 - 2016, all management staff left on their own, staff are always leaving on their own. Those who are left are there just because its a job and they need the money. Management in Black Press itself is okay, but where I was it changed with very little knowledge about the runnings and operation on of a daily paper and had little compassion or respect for employees.That only reflects on one daily newspaper...not Black Press as a whole. Anyone else I worked with in Black Press, with other publishers and weekly papers, were wonderful staff and we all got along very well. I enjoyed the coworkers the most and miss them dearly.

If you’re looking to put out maximum effort, only to be told that you just need to push a bit harder to reach your minimum target then this is a great place to work. Minimal supports are in place, technology is sub par, wage is laughable. On site designers were terminated a year ago so now all ads are designed in regional hubs (sweat shops) by low paid and overworked non designers who provide ads laden with errors.  The time it takes to make a straightforward ad is ridiculous and prevents anyone from success. Management expectations are extremely unrealistic.

Excellent place to work, very productive, Had to meet deadlines.
Unload pallets and prepare flyers for insertion. collation of Flyers into Bundles, prepare and strap Bundles for Pallet and Drivers.
Load the hoppers on Kanza collator machine. Unload Flyers for Pallets and prepare bundles, cut and load hopper, count and Bundle and Tag and load Pallets
Co-workers were exceptional to work with and helpful.
Hardest part of the job was the overtime hours were long due to breakdowns, although unexpected.
The most enjoyable part of the job was seeing the end result of your work, the quality and quantity of work completed

What is the best part of working at the company?
The camaraderie with coworkers and remote relations with staff in other locations. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The fluid work flow, there are many operational  and budgetary changes in the industry. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
A professional corporate environment. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
It is largely spent helping clients solve marketing needs and assisting the general public with issues of varying g importance.

This is a company that has really gone downhill in the past couple of years. In their attempt to remake themselves, they have destroyed themselves instead.  Management couldn't care less about employees—if you have questions or concerns, don't bother telling them, you'll be met with contempt and condemnation. All ad design is now done in the Philippines. The  company culture is 'stress' and 'complete lack of appreciation'. Morale is so low you have to scrape it off the floor. It's really too bad, it used to be a fantastic company. See a job opening for Black Press? Don't apply. You'll regret it.

A typical day would involve 9 hours of non-stop creativity. 
Co-workers always pleasant and helpful to each other to facilitate speed and work load. The constant deadlines, which required fast decision making with very minimal information could occasionally be challenging. 
A little more time for a more considered approach would be ideal but often not possible, depending on the organizational abilities of individual sales personnel.
The most enjoyable part of job was to receive thanks from a happy sales person with a happy client for whom the campaign worked well.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Sales consultant 2 salaries reported	$50,500 per year
Advertising sales representative 2 salaries reported	$62,500 per year
Sales executive 1 salary reported	$45,000 per year
Journalist 1 salary reported	$23.87 per hour

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