HAMILTON SPECTATOR Employee Reviews in Hamilton, ON

Good beginners role. Room for movement up. Can be a bit clique-y. Benefits are great. Pay is average. Vacation is average. Great place to start, gain some experience and then move on

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Pays well, but staffing cuts have exposed toxic workplace culture

Copy Editor (Former Employee) - Hamilton, ON - 22 March 2021

It was very cool to work in the Spectator building for just over a year. But elements of the workplace culture can be pretty brutal. Some 'lifers' including a sports editor who is an out-and-out bully bring the place down.

Pros

Strong union

Cons

Old thinking

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Great job

Production Supervisor (Former Employee) - Hamilton, On - 11 April 2020

The job was great stimulating challenging I loved it but I was also hated by most that worked there because I was an aggressive achiever with a very great work ethic

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hard

Newspaper Delivery (Former Employee) - Hamilton, ON - 3 February 2020

super stressful, too much work but little pay and the weather would be terrible and yet you'd still have to deliver. The man was very rude when id ask

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A Typical Day

Delivered flyers (Former Employee) - Hamilton, ON - 22 January 2020

I would be sent the flyers i had to sort them up which would take a couple hours then drive to the neighborhood and deliver to each house i was set to deliver to

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Fast paced with shifting hours but good people that wanted to help

Line Worker (Former Employee) - Hamilton, ON - 17 December 2019

Work starts with us all arriving and waiting for the paper press to start, assembling the sleeves to be put in the paper and rotating between hoppers Management would supervise the process and correct any mistakes made in a fast and proper manner.

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Good place to work but future of all print media is in doubt

Copy Editor, journalist (Current Employee) - Hamilton, ON - 2 December 2019

Good place to work but future of all print media is in doubt. Good pay and benefits but few if any people being hired. Job cuts are happening now and likely more in the future

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Carrier

Carrier (Former Employee) - Hamilton, ON - 29 October 2019

A newspaper carrier is an easy job for kids to do. Basic and easy work, it doesn't take long to complete. A carrier rolls up papers and delivers them to the route given. Your able to complete this job even after school or another job.

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great expericance

Flyer Carrier (Former Employee) - Hamilton, ON - 27 October 2019

When I was a flyer carrier for Hamilton Spectator it was a great experience to have. It taught me the responsibility of having a job, and prepared me for my job I the future. It taught me the importance of time management.

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Simple and independent

Paper Carrier (Former Employee) - Hamilton, ON - 5 October 2019

You must learn to be on time and efficient, outside work and must be able to complete your task in all weather conditions, I worked the age 12-15 branch so the adult branch may require more work days and security and such and higher pay

Pros

Stable pay for a teenager, good to build responsibility skills, No interview or resume required

Cons

Manual labor, Heavy lifting

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They close the print shop

Press Operator( lead hand) (Former Employee) - Hamilton, ON - 19 September 2019

They close the print shop. Pay was good the hours weren’t people were great to work with but they closed at the print shop. I would have stayed working there till I was 65 at least

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Worst Job Ever

Newspaper Carrier (Former Employee) - Hamilton, ON - 28 October 2018

This was the worst job I have ever had. I took it to work during the night while I worked during the day to help pay the bills and I ended up just breaking even through the gas that my car guzzled from idling to stop and throw papers, and the numerous times that the company took money off my paycheque due to reasons I could not control. I was charged every time a paper was thought to be missing whereas sometimes it has rolled due to the wind. If papers were not in the exact spot that customers stated such as their door step, and had rolled across the porch due to wind, I was charged for complaints. You have to supply your own elastics which adds up quickly, and the bags are almost $30 a box which you go through very quickly when you bag hundreds of papers every night it rains or snows. The truck was often late (sometimes hours late) getting to the depot, so I would end up just sitting and waiting. I signed up for the text alerts for this and they didn’t help. The manager lied frequently to me about the terms of my contract even though I had read and analyzed it multiple times, and often ignored my emails. This job caused me more stress than my other high risk job does, it cost my car quite a bit of money in gas, my car seats are filled with black ink, and I constantly felt uncomfortable talking with the manager. I do not recommend this job, and I would suggest working your butt off somewhere else if needing extra income.

Pros

Can create your own schedule within limits of the night

Cons

Cost me more money than I made, manager made me feel uncomfortable and didn’t reply to emails, was not good for car

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Fun place to work

INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTOR, THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR (Former Employee) - Hamilton, ON - 26 October 2018

It was great working with the Hamilton spectator and unfortunately when I no longer had access to a vehicle I had to end my employment! Fun place to work, great people to work with and hours were good.

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Fast and friendly

Private Contractor (Former Employee) - Hamilton, ON - 23 October 2018

Flexable and good hours . Specs could come out at a certain time to make it faster but it works well . You are timed when doing missed flyers someone missed on a route from the time you get it until the time it gets to the house. Different neighbourhoods and areas so time and bundle the streets wisely . I helped out a lot at this job and ran house to house and honestly if you like driving alone and listening to music at night this is the perfect job

Pros

You drive alone

Cons

Hard on car

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I was very young, so it was good to keep me busy.

Paper Route (Former Employee) - Hamilton, ON - 8 September 2018

I did the paper route when I was much much younger. With that, I dont exactly remember everything about the job. Its a good way to keep people busy and moving.

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Sales and Marketing

Sales and Marketing (Former Employee) - Hamilton, ON - 4 September 2018

A difficult job with long hours, poor management. Very difficult to get in touch with HR when looking to try and get T4. High stress with working 6 days a week, making it difficult to balance home and work life.

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Newspapers

Newspaper Carrier (Former Employee) - Hamilton, ON - 23 August 2018

Hamilton Spectator is a good Company to work for. The Management Team was always helpful and understanding. The pay was good for extra cash. The depot where I had to pick up the papers to deliver was in the same city as me.

Pros

Management

Cons

Customers requests at times but didn't mind doing it

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Laid back environment

Newspaper Delivery (Former Employee) - Hamilton, BM - 26 June 2018

You manage your own time, while managing to deliver the papers on time. It is early mornings. Management is effective. It took about an hour and a half to complete my route.

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Not a fun place

Customer Service Representative (Former Employee) - Hamilton, ON - 24 May 2018

Management is awful. Impossible to work when they do not trust the CSR. Environment was awful... CSR were not able to speak.Unable to have conversations.

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typical day

Delivery Person (Former Employee) - Hamilton, ON - 11 April 2018

they'd drop the news papers on Wednesday off at my house i'd put them together and hand them out before 5pm on Thursday night rain or shine. the pay was horrible.

Pros

first job

Cons

bad pay

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delivering flyers

flyer guy (Current Employee) - Hamilton, ON - 30 January 2018

working gets me extra money every month and always working hard every week spectator is the best job to have great people to get along with at work ..