Pros
I worked at the Victoria Advocate as a contractor for 9 months full-time. It was, without a doubt, the worst job I have ever had as a journalist. Let me start with the pros: Most of the people I worked with were very friendly, and the sister ad agency that technically employed me is made up of very talented people. I am genuinely proud of the work I did here and I got amazing clips that would help me get another, better job. I gave the company a 4-star rating on "career opportunities" because most people leave within 2 years and go on to some place better. And the town really isn't that bad if you know where to go. There's a lot of fun stuff to do in the area.
Cons
HR is a joke and couldn’t even get basic information about me right even when I told them multiple times. I had to ask for an employee handbook the second week of working there because they never met with me when I started. And when I left, the department never met with me at all to explain gap insurance coverage, etc. The editor-in-chief is passive-aggressive, and like another reviewer stated, would rather email about issues than talk about them face to face. Public shame through email is the status quo for every employee, no matter what the offense, and it's all done in the ruse of "keeping everybody in the loop." Nobody in that newsroom truly respects the editor-in-chief, and everyone talks behind each other’s backs and fights with each other. All the email shaming and constant micromanagement created an unhealthy, toxic work environment. This led to a turnover rate of nearly 30 people in about a year, in a company that employs less than 50 people in its newsroom. There is no work-life balance. They expect you to work more than 40 hours a week, but then get angry when you ask to be billed for overtime.