Best Station Groups to Work For (Patreon)

Another website named Fox Television Stations as the station group of the year. 

Hundreds of people that work at Fox O&O's emailed this to FTVLive basically saying, "are you kidding me?!"

But the site that named the Fox O&O's group of the year was not looking at it from the worker's perspective. They just look at revenue and sales and go from there. The site spend days sucking up to the Fox O&O's, many wondered if Fox was paying them for such coverage? 

As for those that work at Fox O&O's, most will tell you it is not all rainbows and roses. 

Many fox stations lead by intimidation and fear. People are told not to talk to anyone and don't dare send any emails to FTVLive. Fox employees are smart enough to do so from their personal accounts and from away from the station. 

Fox stations like the KTVU (Oakland) and WTTG (DC) are some of the worst when it comes to working conditions. Both stations have management that think the best way to manage people is through fear, intimidation and secrecy.  WNYW (NYC) is also one station you don't want to work. 

But, not all Fox stations are bad. WFLD in Chicago is ratings challenged, but they treat the news staff with respect and try to be honest. The same can be said for WTVT in Tampa, which is most likely the best Fox O&O you can work for. 

But, as a whole, working for a Fox O&O is likely a group you want to avoid. 

So, who are the good groups in the industry?

No group is perfect and all groups have some a bad station or two. But we try to break down the groups that you want to work for when it comes to going into the newsroom each and every day. 

Here are the 5 best to work for right now. 

5.  Quincy Media - It is not a big group and most of their stations are in small top midsize markets, But, Quincy has almost never had layoffs and they treat their people fair. Certainly not one of the big names in the industry, but if you are starting your career, landing at a Quincy station will be good for you. 

4. Tegna - I know you are shocked to see them on this list, but Tegna while many times are journalistically challenged, they do treat the employees well. They are above average when it comes to benefits. Hopefully Tegna won't completely sell their soul when it comes to doing news and this whole "Facebook on TV" is just a phase and they will start to produce news again. We are all for thinking outside the box and even encourage it. But, some Tegna stations have completely crossed the line. Still, a company that treats their employees well and you could easily work for much worse. Like I have said, Tegna might ask you to wear a taco costume (tell them no!) but they won't force you to read Donald Trump's talking points. 

3. ABC - Look in almost every market where there is an ABC O&O and it is a good bet that station is in first place in the ratings. The ABC stations are often the powerhouse and many people working at ABC owned stations have been there for years. That should tell you something. Yes, some ABC stations rely on freelancers a bit too much and should hire those people on full-time. But all in all, ABC stations have the full package. 

2. Cox- I know Cox is up for sale and there are even rumors that Sinclair wants to buy them. That would be awful, but we are judging these groups right now and not in the future. Cox is privately owned and that means they don't have to please shareholders with a plumped up bottom line. Cox is all about news and not fluff. You could call them the anti-Tegna. Cos is often the No. 1 station in their respective markets and they treat their employees fairly. 

1. NBC- This was not the case years ago, as the NBC O&O's were not a place you wanted to work. But, the Peacock has turned it around and the NBC owned stations are now solid across the board. NBC started paying better and started treating their employees better and with more respect. And that should be a sign for other station group[s that you can turn it around and be a place where people will enjoy working. 

So Fox, there is still hope for you. 

Soon, FTVLive will give you the worst groups to work at. 

Stay tuned....