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 2% 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 3.0 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 29 reviews)); "Good income and benefits for someone starting their career in the business world." ((in 15 reviews)); "Good work life balance." ((in 11 reviews)); "Salaries are competitive." ((in 11 reviews)); "Approachable colleagues and superiors" ((in 11 reviews))

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

"Dying industry and poor management" ((in 21 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)); "Continued cuts and layoffs across the board, though faring better than a lot of other news/trade pubs" ((in 9 reviews)); "Not a lot of room for advancement." ((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

47% approve of CEO

39% positive business outlook

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

Jun 11, 2019

Not headed anywhere good

Reporter

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Smart colleagues and respected brands

Cons

Leadership lacks vision; growth strategies change frequently, are poorly communicated and don’t work; skeleton staffs struggle to maintain quality; no room for growth; stagnant wages and declining benefits.

3.0

Jun 1, 2018

Lost its way?

Director

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great people on the front lines: journalists, art directors, editors, sales people, etc. Pretty good PTO policy. Generally solid work environment. Opportunity to move around, kind of. Pay is solid.

Cons

Weak management, who's only strategy seems to be cut, cut, cut. Empty talk about a clear vision forward. Centralized functions hamstring individual brands. Attempt to align everyone's interest not well thought out or executed. Lack of best practices around the retirement plan.

2.0

Jul 31, 2017

Slow you roll

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Company does have a vision - although the vision seems a bit clouded, especially for a company dependent upon print publications as a large source of their income.

Cons

As a business, downsizing is a part of life. However, downsizing during a time when you are trying to grow seems counter intuitive.

Crain Communications Response

8y

Response: We appreciate your feedback and thought we’d address some of your concerns. For the company to be successful, it is important not only to grow revenue but also manage costs and we constantly work to balance investment in our core business - content creation - with operating efficiency. Moreover, we have spent recent years streamlining our organizational structure to eliminate duplication of work between the brands and our corporate teams. We recognize change is very difficult but the changes we're making will allow us to grow the business in a more meaningful way going forward.

Viewing 19 - 21 of 292 Reviews

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