Gray Increases Benefits in Effort to Find New Hires

Like many TV groups, Gray Television is finding it hard to recruit people to come work at its stations.

So, they are trying to sweeten the pot with a higher minimum wage, a better 401K match, and more time off.

Some would argue that if all of this was done years ago, maybe the company would not be in the mess they are in now.

Jennifer Dale is Gray’s VP of Recruitment and here is an email that she sent out to try and entice a candidate to join Gray.

FTVLive obtained a copy of the email:

Good afternoon!
My name is Jennifer Dale. I’m the VP of Recruiting for Gray Television. I’m contacting you because things have changed a bit in our company—for the better! I’m proud of the fact that in 2023 we will be offering free (to the employee) healthcare options. We also are upping our 401k match from 3.5% to 5%. For our newest employees, we have raised our company minimum wage to $18/hr. While many of our markets will pay more than that, I know for a minimum wage, that is far, far more than I made when I was a fresh out of college producer! We have also increased our PTO for new employees. New employees start earning 10 hours of PTO a month starting the day they are hired.

Gray has always offered bonuses to all employees based on the performance of their television stations. When I was news director, I saw first hand how impactful those bonuses were to our youngest employees. I’m not sure about your experience with bonuses, but that didn’t happen to me when I was a producer OR mid-level news manager.

Gray TV has 180 stations in 133 markets. If you are interested in any position with Gray, please fill out the link below. This isn’t an application, but rather a form that will help us know when you would be available and what you would be looking for location & job wise. We aren’t just looking for news employees- we have incredible opportunities in sales, creative services, marketing, engineering and production.

I always joke that I didn’t choose to work for Gray. They bought my television station and I came with the building! However, it has been a wonderful experience—and I am proud to be a part of it.

Thanks for taking the time to read this message.
Jennifer