WDVM

Racial Discrimination, An Overall Toxic Work Environment

Mark Kraham is a tone deaf and racist news director. He’s extremely hard on African American reporters compared to other races. He’s burnt out and needs to retire. He doesn’t care about the quality of the stories, but the quota.

Since NBC pulled its affiliation some years ago, the station is pressed fill all of his newscasts with content. When reporters fail to meet the mandatory three stories a day, he writes them up. He loves to yell, slam doors and kick his office trash containers. The reporters are literally worked into the ground every single day.


The station is so toxic that an entry-level journalist can easily lose their passion for television news. The assignment editor is unprofessional and loves to yell and shout expletives. The news director and assignment editor are both bullies. Their lack of professionalism is why they have both been stuck at the same small station for more than 20 years.

The morning and evening news meetings were brutal, stressful and unprofessional.

WARNING: Find another starter market, please go elsewhere. You have been warned.

An Overall Toxic Work Environment

The newsroom overall is very toxic. If you were to take a survey of the station, most people would say they don't like working at WDVM. The news department is very focused on story quota, which sometimes doesn't always work or make sense. They'll have you drive an hour for a big story, but will still expect you to turn a vosot on a separate story. You have to find and pitch your own stories. If you have trouble meeting quota, they'll write you up for missing quota. However, the job is largely contingent of people willing to be interviewed on camera. That's never taken into consideration when they write you up for missing quota. Also, the assignment editor and executive producer are bullies. They yell at people and don't give people encouragement. The assignment editor has anger management issues and has crossed the line numerous times talking to employees. The news director never properly addressed the issue. The station will overwork people at times, which is very unethical. For instance, they'll have the 4 a.m. reporter cover late stories and go live. That same reporter is also required to turn a pkg, making them stay hours beyond their shift. They don't take into consideration that the morning reporter has been in since 4 a.m. Overall, it's a very stressful job with low pay. The management at the station makes things even more stressful. Working at the station will make you want to go into PR.

It's a starter station near the D.C region. A lot of people who work at the station leave and go to work in the Harrisburg market. If you get hired to work at WDVM, stay for 1 year and try to get out. It's not a good job unless your a full-time anchor.

An Overall Toxic Work Environment

The comments are right. The assignment editor is a horrible human being that is rude to everyone and is a snake. He pretends he is on your corner then goes behind your back to talk crap. The ND is a scatterbrain and also delusional. The GM actually isn't too bad from my experience. This is really a terrible, cheap budget station. Barely any live shots (NOT READING THE PROMPTER I MEAN, REAL LIVE SHOTS) only one digital person, no real assignment desk, no police scanners, only one Executive Producer who is also the Assistant News Director. No room for creative growth, they are stuck in doing things in ancient times (haven't won an Emmy in years). The ND is kind of weird and suspicious of everything even when there isn't a need also people are spiteful. Oh and the shots from the studios look like a college kid project. The directors are incompetent at actually focusing anything. They are embarrassing but for some reason this station believes that they are part of the DC media market when they really aren't. If you DO decide to do this def pick a bureau bc Hagerstown is a joke. Looking like a market 125 or worse. Good luck!

Nope....i just say if you are going to take this you have BEEN forewarned....get in and get out. ASAP

The newsroom itself is chaotic, with high employee turnover, a general lack of direction and not enough attention or resources are given to the multiple localized bureaus, despite the instance that Nexstar is a local first news company. The split between the ND and the GM in terms of what the station should be is frustrating to say the least. Unfortunately, the GM is so out of touch with what is going on in the newsroom—not knowing who reporters are, not knowing the coverage area—that it makes it hard to imagine things will straighten out until either the GM or the ND caves to the other—a reality that ultimately hurts both the staff and the viewers. I will say, the ND does make an effort to get reporters live experience, as well producing and anchoring experience as he realizes these are critical for people to move onward and upward. On the other hand, some former reporters say he tried to sabotage their efforts to land jobs at other stations in efforts to get them to re-sign.

Great location, being near D.C. Sometimes you're on the scene with D.C reporters. Nice place to get your foot in the door and get out after 1.5 years. Lack of live shots, breaking news, never work with photog. Newsroom can be negative/chaotic.

If you're a bureau reporter, you have to be very independent and everything is up to your discretion. No direction is given here. Very unorganized, but reporters are supportive of one another and get along well. You'll only hear from management if you did something wrong and rarely for nice compliments or any type of feedback.

Sexual Harassment

The "Assignment Editor" who used to be the Live Truck Operator, who seriously lacks in News Judgement since he does not have a degree in Journalism, and has also spent time in Pennsylvania State Prison for drug charges. How he got hired into a television station as a convicted felon is a mystery. The Assignment Editor loves to think he runs the show in the newsroom, and has cornered people in edit bays before, put his hands on people as well as slandered people.. "You're not going to talk to me like you talk to these females" was what he said once.

While I believe my time at this station was beneficial to my career, the General Manager is not a people person and will go out of his way to point out where you are wrong and not support you. The News Director, although while he is a nice guy is not in control of the newsroom, hence why no one stays there more than one contract in length. The harassment, both verbal and sexual has been brought to the News Director and basically ignores it.