Mississippi State Beat Reporter - Columbus, Miss.

JournalismJobs.com - Job Listing - Mississippi State Sports Beat Reporter

Description:

The (Columbus, Miss.) Commercial Dispatch is seeking a driven, self-motivated sports reporter to cover Mississippi State University athletics out of our Starkville office. We’re looking for someone to own this beat through solid reporting and a dynamic social media presence.

We need someone who has a passion for sports, is comfortable immersing him/herself in the MSU athletic community and who will own this beat. MSU has seen athletic success in recent years, particularly in baseball and women’s basketball. We’re looking for someone who will find ways to capitalize on that success, elevating our product in the process. Valuing the print product is a must, but we also understand sports reporting is about establishing a relationship with your readers. Social media is a perfect way to do that, and we want you to embrace that.


The ideal candidate can provide engaging game coverage while also sniffing out more in-depth features. Time management, high productivity, good news judgment and unflagging persistence are essential attributes. We are looking for someone with at least two years’ of newspaper experience.


The Dispatch is a 14,000-circulation family-owned afternoon daily. Starkville and Columbus are part of an area known as The Golden Triangle. The Golden Triangle has a wealth of dining, entertainment and recreation options, including rivers, lakes, hiking trails and sports facilities. The area is within two hours of the larger cities of Jackson, Mississippi, Birmingham, Alabama and Memphis.

If this position sounds like a good fit for you, e-mail cover letter, resume and writing samples to Peter Imes at pimes@cdispatch.com.

 

From the last guy.

 

We know it's fairly close to Tunica. But what about Tahoe?

 

You've been around long enough to know Tahoe's only 15 minutes away.

 

Also it's not within "two" hours of those places. Maybe three, without any traffic. The two closest "big" cities are Tupelo and Tuscaloosa.

 

FWIW, I worked at this paper back in the day. Family-owned and operated, so that's good. I don't think they've had newsroom layoffs in the last few years. Adam Minichino, the sports editor, is a good guy and has been there forever.

Columbus is a neat city. Starkville ... eh.

 

Thanks for posting that. From all the replies seems like he did a pretty legit job.

 

From all accounts, Brett did a good job on the MSU beat. I ran across him a few times and thought he did well and was well respected by our colleagues in the SEC. Not really sure how the Dispatch came up with their reasoning for firing him.

Covering MSU can be a stepping stone to a good job somewhere else. Ross Dellenger, Will Sammon and Michael Bonner all crushed those beats and got jobs at other places. Delly is at SI and Sammon followed Dan Mullen to The Athletic.

 

They just announced a new publisher a few days ago, and he also happens to be the contact for this job ad, which sets off all sorts of alarm bells.

 

The new guy is the son of the old guy from what I just read. Not sure what to make of it, but that's what it is.

 

And the "new guy" has been the No. 2 guy at the paper for more than a decade. I think his title was "operations manager" but he was more in charge of the business side of things. Birney Imes, Peter's father, was more the editorial voice. He must have retired and given up the top spot.

 

Looks like Minichino is done too
Timing right to take next step in career