The State of KRON; 'Mgt. Wears You Down'; Turmoil at 1001 Van Ness

At KRON, the relationship between management and the working rank and file-- including many of the reporters, a few anchors, and most newsroom personnel is at an all-time low.

Take accounts like this, for example, from a former staffer, (who, like all others requested anonymity out of fear of mtg. retaliation.)

"For nearly every individual who works there, it feels like a constant lose-lose situation; morale is the lowest of any place I've ever seen and management is more disliked than any place I've ever worked, PERIOD."

There's a lot more, with the brunt of the toxic situation aimed directly at GM Brian Greif, News Director, Aaron Pero, and assistant news director, Stacey Baier.

Said one of three independent sources:

"The biggest problem at KRON is management--

If you push for balance, they yell at you publicly.
If you disagree with their stance, they make an example of you.
If you attempt to retain your dignity, they will go out of their way to humiliate you."

That last comment is indicative of the constant word I get, both in direct communication and word from those inside the building who fear for their jobs if they dare go on the record. And just when things tend to calm down and the situation(s) seems to have been diffused, comes word that things are only getting worse.

Try this:

"While I worked there I saw multiple instances in which people were advised that the floor was open to opinions, and in each and every case where somebody voiced their opinion, management took it upon themselves to single that person out, criticize them and insult them in front of their coworkers. Then, after everybody had gotten the message, they yelled at us for not speaking up or having anything to offer during meetings...

People who work in that office are now just trying to keep their heads above water. The overall atmosphere is terrible, and management has everybody exactly where they want them: nobody knows what's happening and has no sense of security, so they're just trying to survive in the hopes that things get better. When a news director will publicly state that he thinks all reporters are useless and a general manager will walk into a newsroom and "jokingly" ask if anybody needs to be fired that day, people are just desperate to keep their heads down and retain their livelihoods."

One can reasonably assume that a case of ex-worker disgruntlement is at place here, but not when you see it coming from people still working there and just trying to "make it."


Constant word from several insiders reveal an atmosphere where some of KRON's notable on-air "stars" gets extreme preferential treatment at the expense of staffers who have been laid out to dry and humiliated at any and all costs.

Again, they all express a feeling of desperation and complete retaliation from their bosses, who, they say, take matters to the extreme if they sense anyone trying to rock the boat. A few have been called into the office and told matter of fact NOT to talk to me.

A prominent morning personality, Darya Folsom, is universally loathed by many inside the newsroom. Repeated stories of her influence over Pero range from "unusually high" to outright over the top
.

From another source with direct knowledge of the situation and is familiar with the goings-on at KRON:

"A few months back, national Young bigwigs demanded some focus groups for all of the "news" shows due to the dismal ratings. I'm not sure what happened with the evening shows, but after working on the morning shows the results we had access to all pointed towards viewers HATING Darya Folsom. Routine comments included "too loud," "abrasive" and many people asked why she was always shouting. Following those tests, Darya was told to "tone it down." She became angry and sullen in the office. Darya is once again resorting to complaining to Pero whenever she is asked to alter her performance or work well with others. He is once again allowing her to behave poorly, including yelling and blaming producers for her mistakes and picking and choosing when she will participate in staff meetings and important discussions. And most of the changes made because of those tests have been abandoned; management simply sees no need to alter their own plans for any reason. Darya also strong-armed Pero into canceling vacation time scheduled by other morning anchor James Fletcher. Fletcher had planned a Thanksgiving getaway with his family and scheduled the time off early in the summer. A few weeks back Darya decided she wanted to take that week off and demanded Pero inform Fletcher that he would have to cancel his plans. To say the least, Fletcher was upset and offended."

And there's more:

"The Morning Executive Producer recently quit, with no other jobs or opportunities lined up. In her final months at the station it wasn't uncommon for her to find herself in the ND or GM's office multiple times a week to be screamed at for things she had no control over - most often technical problems. In other words, she was finding herself being screamed at for SKYPE not working properly or the shoddy vans not being able to send out a signal. She was unqualified for the position in the first place, but she was never put in the spot to improve the show or come up with new ideas; they only wanted somebody to parrot the insulting comments from above."

While Greif and Pero were the source of much of the anxiety, Baier, the assistant news director, was outed as a notable instigator. Again, all the talk from the sources seem to indicate that Baier enjoys her limited power and likes to, apparently, make people uncomfortable:

"Baier had never worked in news prior to her job at KRON. She was hired by Brian Greif, who had dated her previously and thought she'd be great at making people's lives miserable. On the same day Transportation Reporter Mark Jones left because they tried to cut his salary drastically, Baier insulted somebody's clothing choice and declared that she would never wear jeans that weren't designer-made and expensive. She's a class act, and is loathed by everybody who interacts with her."

Keep in mind that these comments are from individuals who either currently work at KRON, have worked there and/or others whose comments have been checked for veracity. They were all consistent with other communications I have heard over the years.


Greif gets first price for universal loathing by most of the news staffers.

"He, (Greif) is, hands-down, the most smug, arrogant asshole I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. I am quite certain he had a miserable childhood and is spending his adult life trying to get revenge on the world by treating every single person he meets like total garbage."

And that's the just the least lethal thing heard about Greif; I think you get the picture.

Finally from one of the sources who left KRON recenly:

"At this point everybody who works at KRON considers management to be bullies. And they live up to that reputation pretty well. Even in this terrible economy, it was quite a relief to get out of that place. When I see my former coworkers they often say I look relaxed and peaceful now that I don't have to listen to all that nonsense."

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