20th century company failing in a 21st century world - Media Strategist Salem Media Group Employee Review

1.0
Jun 4, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-Personal atmosphere -Low level managers really do listen to complaints and issues

Cons

-Upper level management is stuck in the past -Upper level management disregards complaints and makes excuses for obvious shortcomings -Blatantly obvious, desperately needed change is never brought, despite virtual complete agreement among lower level management and non-management staff. -Pay is awful compared to the industry averages. Salary is far below CA poverty levels. The only way to increase your income is to sell clients, which is very difficult as Salem doesn't buy ratings, doesn't self promote, and doesn't invest in live and local programming. What clients you do sell are very low-dollar, and retention is very difficult with underperforming stations. -Digital platform is absolutely, abysmally awful. Digital "advertisers" struggle to perform beyond the most basic campaigns, and communication with the department is difficult if not impossible at times. CPM rates are nowhere near competitive, giving you the same problem as with radio. If you do manage to get a client, they won't stick around for long.

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Salem Media Group Response
7y
Thank you for taking the time to review Salem Media Group. We are sorry to hear that you are having difficulties with management. We would like to be able to address your concerns, so we encourage you to please contact our Human Resources Department at 1-800-500-9299.

Explore other reviews about Salem Media Group

5.0
Dec 28, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Solid leadership Forward thinking Faith driven

Cons

Stations are run with lean staffing in some locations

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Salem Media Group Response
5mo
Thank you for sharing your experience and kind words about our leadership and mission. We appreciate your honest feedback about staffing and are always working to balance resources to best serve our teams and audiences. Wishing you all the best in your future endeavors!
2.0
May 31, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great supportive local environment, people called to work there to support the mission.

Cons

Corporate digital leadership is disjointed and systems are chaotic. Actual delivered campaigns are inevitably flawed and mis managed. Retaliatory, narcisstic, abusive corporate digital leadership. Constant systems changes and zero assistance in navigating. More and more digital agency and other jobs outsourced to Asia. Salespeople are exhausted and burned out by programs failing. Zero accountability taken by Ad Ops team for mistakes or extrene lag time in responses from internal automated systems. Salary cuts to 'help the company' plays on the mission minded employees, taking advantage of employees good intentions by underpaying them compared to industry. No 401K match.

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