Author Topic: Sports writer, Harrisonburg, VA (Read 2640 times)

Mystery Meat II · « **on:** January 19, 2012, 02:07:10 PM »

Company:    Daily News-Record
Position:
   Sports Writer
Location:
   Harrisonburg, Virginia
Job Status:    Full-time
Salary:    Not Specified
Ad Expires:
   February 23, 2012
Job ID:    1314195

Description:

The Daily News-Record, a 28,000-circulation Monday-Saturday daily in Harrisonburg, Va., is seeking a sports writer. Beats include a Division III football team and two Division III basketball teams. Desk work and general assignment reporting also is part of the job. In addition, you'd contribute to our Rivals.com site (James Madison University). Harrisonburg is a college town (JMU, Bridgewater, Eastern Mennonite) in the Shenandoah Valley about two hours southwest of D.C. and two hours east of Richmond. This is essentially an entry-level position -- meaning recent college graduates (with journalism degrees or extensive work at their college newspapers) are welcome to apply. No phone calls. Email resumes to sports editor Chris Simmons at [email protected].

Matt Stephens · « **Reply #1 on:** January 19, 2012, 02:12:37 PM »

I'm guessing someone from within moved up to take Mike's spot and this is for their old job?

chris simmons · « **Reply #2 on:** January 19, 2012, 03:53:23 PM »

Pretty much. Matthew Stoss will be covering JMU football. (And that should be WEST of Richmond, btw

jr/shotglass · « **Reply #3 on:** January 19, 2012, 05:20:45 PM »

Pretty darn good entry-level position, from what I can tell.

Mystery Meat II · « **Reply #4 on:** January 19, 2012, 05:30:59 PM »

Quote from: chris simmons on January 19, 2012, 03:53:23 PM

Pretty much. Matthew Stoss will be covering JMU football. (And that should be WEST of Richmond, btw

yeah. two hours east of Richmond puts you on the Eastern Shore. Good seafood, poor college football.

Versatile · « **Reply #5 on:** January 20, 2012, 01:54:06 AM »

Sources: Chris Simmons is a terrific boss. I've never worked with him myself, but I am good friends with someone who has in the past. The sports section they put out in Harrisonburg is pretty terrific for its size.

Moderator1 · « **Reply #6 on:** January 20, 2012, 04:22:15 AM »

As always - The Seal.

doodah · « **Reply #7 on:** January 20, 2012, 05:58:05 AM »

Seems like a solid entry level position. I applied.

Big Circus · « **Reply #8 on:** January 20, 2012, 07:15:21 AM »

Quote from: chris simmons on January 19, 2012, 03:53:23 PM

Pretty much. Matthew Stoss will be covering JMU football. (And that should be WEST of Richmond, btw

Excellent news there. Stoss is good people.

35in44 · « **Reply #9 on:** January 20, 2012, 12:26:18 PM »

Just to add to this -- and I said it over on the thread where Barber was hired how great of a boss Simmons is -- this place has also seen a fair number of people move on from it into much larger jobs, including Joe Lemire (now covering baseball for SI), Jeremy Cothran (covered the Mets for the Star-Ledger before heading of to the world of sports information), Michael Rothstein (covers Michigan for ESPN.com) -- not to mention Barber leaving the paper to cover Virginia Tech and Dustin Dopirak, who covers Indiana basketball for the Bloomington Herald-Times.

So there's a recent lineage of people moving up into bigger and better jobs. A lot of that has to do with the eye for talent Simmons has and what people learn while they are there under him.

doodah · « **Reply #10 on:** January 20, 2012, 01:00:48 PM »

This sounds good to hear. I hope they hire me.

Moderator1 · « **Reply #11 on:** January 20, 2012, 04:21:14 PM »

35, it goes back well before that to guys like Scott Blanchard and Skip Wood. Excellent journalists, made better by Chris Simmons.

A perfect SE for a paper like this, smaller in size but they do some big stuff. May not be a better teaching SE anywhere.

Doodah, he'd put up with about none of your bullshit.

doodah · « **Reply #12 on:** January 20, 2012, 05:04:06 PM »

Quote from: Moderator1 on January 20, 2012, 04:21:14 PM

35, it goes back well before that to guys like Scott Blanchard and Skip Wood. Excellent journalists, made better by Chris Simmons.

A perfect SE for a paper like this, smaller in size but they do some big stuff. May not be a better teaching SE anywhere.

Doodah, he'd put up with about none of your bullshit.

I think you'd be pleasantly surprised to know I'm much different in person than I am on a message board.

imjustagirl · « **Reply #13 on:** January 20, 2012, 05:57:53 PM »

Quote from: doodah on January 20, 2012, 05:04:06 PM

Quote from: Moderator1 on January 20, 2012, 04:21:14 PM
35, it goes back well before that to guys like Scott Blanchard and Skip Wood. Excellent journalists, made better by Chris Simmons.

A perfect SE for a paper like this, smaller in size but they do some big stuff. May not be a better teaching SE anywhere.

Doodah, he'd put up with about none of your bullshit.

I think you'd be pleasantly surprised to know I'm much different in person than I am on a message board.

Why would he be pleasantly surprised? This is the you he has to know, not the nice one.

Stitch · « **Reply #14 on:** January 20, 2012, 06:02:56 PM »

At least you don't have to send in a cover letter for this.

Versatile · « **Reply #15 on:** January 20, 2012, 06:34:44 PM »

Quote from: doodah on January 20, 2012, 05:04:06 PM

Quote from: Moderator1 on January 20, 2012, 04:21:14 PM
35, it goes back well before that to guys like Scott Blanchard and Skip Wood. Excellent journalists, made better by Chris Simmons.

A perfect SE for a paper like this, smaller in size but they do some big stuff. May not be a better teaching SE anywhere.

Doodah, he'd put up with about none of your bullshit.

I think you'd be pleasantly surprised to know I'm much different in person than I am on a message board.

If I believed this to be true, I would want to find the "in-person" Doodah and put a pen through his eye.

doodah · « **Reply #16 on:** January 20, 2012, 06:50:50 PM »

Quote from: Versatile on January 20, 2012, 06:34:44 PM

Quote from: doodah on January 20, 2012, 05:04:06 PM
Quote from: Moderator1 on January 20, 2012, 04:21:14 PM
35, it goes back well before that to guys like Scott Blanchard and Skip Wood. Excellent journalists, made better by Chris Simmons.

A perfect SE for a paper like this, smaller in size but they do some big stuff. May not be a better teaching SE anywhere.

Doodah, he'd put up with about none of your bullshit.

I think you'd be pleasantly surprised to know I'm much different in person than I am on a message board.

If I believed this to be true, I would want to find the "in-person" Doodah and put a pen through his eye.

Please explain.

doodah · « **Reply #17 on:** January 20, 2012, 07:59:18 PM »

Quote from: Stitch on January 20, 2012, 07:56:19 PM

Quote from: doodah on January 20, 2012, 06:50:50 PM
Quote from: Versatile on January 20, 2012, 06:34:44 PM
Quote from: doodah on January 20, 2012, 05:04:06 PM
Quote from: Moderator1 on January 20, 2012, 04:21:14 PM
35, it goes back well before that to guys like Scott Blanchard and Skip Wood. Excellent journalists, made better by Chris Simmons.

A perfect SE for a paper like this, smaller in size but they do some big stuff. May not be a better teaching SE anywhere.

Doodah, he'd put up with about none of your bullshit.

I think you'd be pleasantly surprised to know I'm much different in person than I am on a message board.

If I believed this to be true, I would want to find the "in-person" Doodah and put a pen through his eye.

Please explain.

I'm guessing you haven't interned anywhere.

I have. Can you please go back to being the friendly Stitch?

35in44 · « **Reply #18 on:** January 21, 2012, 11:15:42 AM »

Moddy,
Absolutely. Chris has been doing it for years -- Berman in Roanoke and Aaron Gray out in the US Virgin Islands are also Simmons alums. It's a long, long list for a paper in the middle of the Shenandoah Valley.

Ryan_Sonner · « **Reply #19 on:** January 21, 2012, 11:33:48 AM »

Gray is in the Virgin Islands? Interesting.

RedHotChiliPrepper · « **Reply #20 on:** January 21, 2012, 08:16:51 PM »

Anyone have an idea of pay vs. cost of living in this area? Am I going to be living on a steady diet of Ramen noodles or is it comfortable?

Moderator1 · « **Reply #21 on:** January 22, 2012, 05:23:24 AM »

great area, reasonable, comfortable.

doodah · « **Reply #22 on:** January 22, 2012, 08:23:20 AM »

Is this a place that will allow me to get to my dream job of the LA Times pretty quickly?

franticscribe · « **Reply #23 on:** January 22, 2012, 09:07:09 AM »

Quote from: RedHotChiliPrepper on January 21, 2012, 08:16:51 PM

Anyone have an idea of pay vs. cost of living in this area? Am I going to be living on a steady diet of Ramen noodles or is it comfortable?

When I interviewed news-side many years ago the pay was very low compared to similarly sized newspapers, and I ended up working at a smaller Valley paper for a good bit more. (I needed to be in the Valley for a couple of years for non-career related reasons.) I don't know what the payscale is like today. But you can live pretty cheaply in the Harrisonburg area, and I probably would have done it to work with Simmons on the sports side, had that been the position I was interviewing for. Also, it is a beautiful part of the country to live in.

Rawbot · « **Reply #24 on:** January 22, 2012, 09:11:40 AM »

Sportswriters need not apply.

News:

Author Topic: Sports writer, Harrisonburg, VA (Read 2640 times)