Does Lee Enterprises pay their employees well?

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

How satisfied are employees working at Lee Enterprises?

36% of Lee Enterprises employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Lee Enterprises 3.5 out of 5 for work life balance, 2.7 for culture and values and 2.7 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Lee Enterprises?

Account Executive (21) , Reporter (21) , Customer Service Representative (20) , Page Designer (18) , Designer (10) , Sales Representative (10) , Editor (9) , District Manager (8) , Manager (7) , Journalist/Reporter (6) , News Reporter (6) , Copy Editor (5) , Graphic Designer (5) , Sales Manager (5) , Circulation Manager (4)

What are the pros of working at Lee Enterprises according to real employee reviews?

"Great people to work with." ((in 30 reviews)); "Great coworkers but little else positive" ((in 24 reviews)); "Good benefits and matching 401k" ((in 22 reviews)); "Good commissions and great coworkers." ((in 8 reviews)); "Fairly stable work environment." ((in 6 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Lee Enterprises according to real employee reviews?

"Low pay and no raises." ((in 42 reviews)); "Poor management in an industry that needs creative ideas in order to survive." ((in 37 reviews)); "Constant layoffs of good solid news people" ((in 18 reviews)); "This manager was also fantastic." ((in 11 reviews)); "upper management is always looking for ways to cut hours in our department even though we are already coming away with 20" ((in 9 reviews))

What are employees saying about Lee Enterprises layoffs in 2026?

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

What are the top reviewed Lee Enterprises locations?

Davenport , Munster , Saint Louis , Omaha , Madison , Lincoln , Waterloo , Missoula , Richmond , La Crosse , Tulsa , Albany , Charlottesville , Billings , Longview , Carbondale , Decatur , Crown Point , Bloomington , Twin Falls , Provo , Moline , Buffalo , Racine , Flagstaff , Hamilton , Butte , Fremont , Blair , Casper

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Lee Enterprises

Lee Enterprises reviews

3.1

36% would recommend to a friend

(461 total reviews)

Mary E. Junck

67% approve of CEO

20% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.5

Work/Life balance

3.1

Compensation and benefits

3.0

Diversity & inclusion

2.8

Senior management

2.7

Culture & values

2.7

Career opportunities

Lee Enterprises has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 461 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Lee Enterprises employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Media & Communication industry (3.7 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

461 reviews

1.0

Aug 27, 2017

Designer

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

• Learned some new skills • Job started off ok (it's a paycheck) • Some coworkers were nice

Cons

• Multiple restructurings, the last one full of constant micromanaging from upper management • No room for growth professionally or financially, despite greatly increased workload • Poor scheduling; not enough designers scheduled each night and high turnover • Quantity over quality: doing 25-30 pages per night toward the end of my time there, and constantly told to take on more • Issues with chemicals in the building made people sick, and multiple restroom closures where people had to travel to the gas station for a working restroom

1.0

May 18, 2016

Horrible company culture with management that doesn't care about employees

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

This company paid the bills and I learned a lot from my direct supervisor until he resigned.

Cons

This company does not care about their employees. The management has their own agenda and there is zero transparency within the company. The director's and VP's take care of themselves and do what they have to do to keep stock holders happy, even if it means the employees are lied to constantly and made promises to that will never be kept.

1.0

Aug 31, 2015

Misery Incorporated

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

You meet some odd people in this industry, but some of them are genuine, hard-working individuals and a joy to be around. There is room for advancement, if you're willing to bust your hump, take on additional work, pull long hours, and get incredibly lucky.

Cons

Unfortunately that doesn't mean much when the company is constantly eroding your benefits, paying you far below industry standard, bullying you about overtime pay, and laying off employees regularly in order to meet the bottom line. This is a corporate culture where the people who produce are dumped on, while excuses are made for the lazy. Anyone with actual talent is desperate to escape. Everyone else weathers the storm, knowing that the buddy system will keep them high and dry. Most of the front-line staff are overworked, fearful of losing their jobs, and constantly stymied by dysfunctional micromanagement.

Viewing 7 - 9 of 461 Reviews

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Jobs at Lee Enterprises

Application Developer

Application Developer

Distribution Warehouse Worker