Reporters are underpaid and overworked - Reporter Forbes Employee Review

3.0
23 May 2023
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Pros

Brilliant editors, mentors and colleagues. Great story opportunities and source access. Having Forbes on a resume can lead to terrific jobs elsewhere, and it's a great education in journalism. High standards for fact-checking. Union is currently negotiating a contract with management to improve working conditions, pay, diversity and more. Flexible WFH/hybrid schedules. Depending on your manager, you may have a lot of independence as long as you find great stories and turn things in.

Cons

Forbes underpays its reporters, and as a result, plenty of talented young journalists are forced to look elsewhere for jobs. Newsroom turnover is high; I saw tons of employees leave for other companies or careers altogether, in an effort to pay their NYC rent. Some (not all) of the people who end up staying long enough to earn a reasonable salary seemed to have financial help from elsewhere. (No surprise: this leads to a "pay your dues" management culture with little diversity, socioeconomic or otherwise.) Younger journalists are tasked with fact-checking magazine features during a remarkably disorganized process that can involve working weekends, or staying up until 4am the day a story is due to the press. (No overtime pay, either.) With unpredictable schedules, good luck holding down a second job to cover your rent, groceries or student loan bills. Some people who'd been at the company their entire careers haven't gotten a raise in a decade. The line has also begun to blur between editorial and business objectives, under the chief content officer's watch, especially when it comes to Forbes' ranking lists. This has been a source of contention in the newsroom.

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5.0
13 Mar 2026
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CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good pay, generous vacation policy

Cons

top heavy management and staff lay offs

4.0
8 May 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Strong brand with enormous global reach and authority. Looks great on the resume. The organization itself offers great opportunities and you get to work with a lot of inspiring, go-getting colleagues.

Cons

Brand dilution is real -- Forbes has so many brand licensing deals and rents its name out so frequently that the value often gets lost. The public-facing website also has gone downhill and comes off as a spammy ad platform. Trying to find the right person to contact within the web of Forbes is very convoluted, especially if you're trying to reach someone in a different Forbes entity.

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