Does Crain Communications pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Crain Communications employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.1 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Crain Communications. This rating has decreased by 3% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Crain Communications?

39% of Crain Communications employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Crain Communications 3.1 out of 5 for work life balance, 2.5 for culture and values and 2.6 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Crain Communications?

Reporter (19) , Editor (10) , Manager (10) , Account Executive (6) , Director (5) , Marketing (5) , Editorial (4) , Intern (4) , Journalist (4) , Senior Reporter (4) , Business Analyst (3) , Editorial Intern (3) , Project Manager (3) , Sales (3) , Ad Sales Director (2)

What are the pros of working at Crain Communications according to real employee reviews?

"great people to work with" ((in 25 reviews)); "Good income and benefits for someone starting their career in the business world." ((in 19 reviews)); "Great bosses and coworkers!" ((in 11 reviews)); "Good work life balance." ((in 11 reviews)); "Approachable colleagues and superiors" ((in 10 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Crain Communications according to real employee reviews?

"Dying industry and poor management" ((in 22 reviews)); "Low pay and no chance for advancement" ((in 11 reviews)); "There are way too many managers to report to so there's a weird reporting structure." ((in 9 reviews)); "Morale is a bit low with recent layoffs, but the teams have stuck together." ((in 8 reviews)); "Bad decisions and bad leadership are resulting in closing of brands, cutting of benefits, and major layoffs." ((in 7 reviews))

What are employees saying about Crain Communications layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Crain Communications layoffs and their outlook for job security at Crain Communications in 2026.

What are the top reviewed Crain Communications locations?

Detroit , New York , Chicago , Conway , Akron , Cleveland , Grand Rapids , Houston , Cuyahoga Falls , Mountain View , Farmington Hills , United States Coast Guard - Air Station Sacramento

Crain Communications reviews

2.8

39% would recommend to a friend

(292 total reviews)

KC Crain

45% approve of CEO

39% positive business outlook

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (292 reviews)

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Crain Communications has an employee rating of 2.8 out of 5 stars, based on 292 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The Crain Communications employee rating is 25% below average for employers within the Media & Communication industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

292 reviews

2.0

Jul 26, 2016

Classified Sales Representative

Classified sales representative

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The pay isn't too bad. The retirement was fairly good and the corporate leaders were trying.

Cons

I worked for Plastics News as a Classified Sales person the direct manager wouldn't listen to anyone that had ideas or suggestions. They want their classified sales person to work on an antiquated system (Excel) to replace a CRM and that didn't foster growth either personally or financially for the company.

4.0

Jul 17, 2016

Editorial Intern

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great bosses and coworkers! They were very cognizant of my knowledge level and experience and did not condescend. I was pushed to learn a lot about the industry and got plenty of bylines and great experience as a result. Intern pay was higher than average.

Cons

None to report. This internship gave me a great launching point for the rest of my career as a business journalist. Would consider working for Crain Communications in the future.

2.0

Jul 15, 2016

Some good, more bad...

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The salary was good, if you're lucky enough to end up with a good manager (and I was) then you'll have some autonomy.

Cons

The major problem I found there was they they had the absolute wrong people in the absolute wrong positions which is a serious problem if you are good at what you do and you look for support from others and it's not there because they have no idea what they're doing, or as far as InvestmentNews is concerned, don't care. I came across very few people who weren't on the look out for other jobs elsewhere, no one seemed particularly happy.

Crain Communications Response

9y

Thank you for your honest feedback and review. We take very seriously the happiness of our employees and we’re disappointed your experience didn’t live up to your expectations, as well as our own. We work hard to employ the best in the business within all our brands, and assure you our hiring managers will take this feedback into consideration. Best of luck to you in your future endeavors.

Viewing 187 - 189 of 292 Reviews

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