Sports writer, Greenwood, S.C.

The Index-Journal, a 15,000-circulation daily in Greenwood, S.C., is looking for a talented, energetic sports journalist to join its team.
We're looking for somebody who understands local sports matter and can convey that through stories and photos in our sports section. Our publication covers 10 high schools, two Division II colleges and various other sporting events in our four-county coverage area. The journalist hired will also have to shoot photos and occasionally design pages. Essentially, we're looking for a multi-faceted journalist, one who can write, report, shoot photos, copy edit and design pages.
This is the ideal job for somebody fresh out of college or a talented journalist looking to make the move up from a weekly, but a proven veteran looking to relocate to a charming Southern town is also welcome to apply.
If interested, send a résumé, clips (writing and page design, preferred) and references (via regular mail or e-mail) to:
Scott J. Bryan
Associate Editor
P.O. Box 1018
Greenwood, SC 29648
sbryan@indexjournal.com.
No phone calls, please.

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1.) Adam Regan, one of our two sports writers, has accepted a position to serve as the Preps Sports Editor at the Anderson Independent-Mail. We will miss Adam's writing style, fine reporting and spiky hair.
2.) Location: Greenwood is about an hour from Greenville, a little over an hour from Augusta and about an hour and a half from Columbia.
3.) The town: It's a reasonably-sized Southern town. We've got restaurants, a movie theater, a bowling alley, golf courses and more than enough bars and churches.
4.) The staff: We have two full-time sports writers and a sports editor. The sports writers handle the bulk of the writing and desk work is limited (we have a universal desk that handles the bulk of the sports design).
5.) The schedule: Afternoons, nights and weekends, of course.
6.) Pay: About $22K-$25K. It depends on experience.
7.) Newspaper stability: Like any newspaper, we’ve had some cost-saving measures. We’ve reduced the size of our paper and folded the features section into the A section. The sports section, for the most part, has maintained its level of space – four to five pages during the week, seven-eight pages on Sunday. Occasionally, we’ll have a three-page sports section, but that’s generally on days where we don’t need as much space. We have not had any furloughs. We received Christmas bonuses in December. We had a Christmas party. Because we’re a family-owned publication, we don’t have the corporate hoops to jump through.
8.) Newsroom atmosphere: I love working here. I’ve been here 3-plus years, and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it. We have a talented staff, and we’re going to do big things. It’s a good place to work. Honest.
9.) Hiring process: We intend to take applications for the next two weeks and move quickly in hiring a sports writer.

If you have any more questions, feel free to PM me, post it here or send me an e-mail at sbryan@indexjournal.com. Please, please, please, no phone calls.

Thanks.

Scott J. Bryan
Associate Editor
The (Greenwood, S.C.) Index-Journal

 

Greenwood has recently had a really good reputation with its sports section. And knowing Scott Chancey for years and having had him work for me for a few, I can tell you, he's a terrific guy and a HARD worker.

 

For those who aren't familiar, Scott Chancey has been our sports editor since May after I was promoted to associate editor. You'll be applying to me -- sbryan@indexjournal.com -- but Scott Chancey (or Dr. Chancey, as I call him) will be heavily involved in the hiring process.

Thanks for the kind words Daniel.

 

lol....with #8 you seem to be trying to convince yourself. or maybe it's a good place to work in YOUR mind because you're running off all the good guys. (sorry, but am referring to your several ads you have posted all over the internet for writers, reporters, and photographers.) what on earth are you doing to them???

 

I echo everything Moddy said.

 

It doesn't take a genius to figure out who HenJac is, and that's fine. We have our share of openings; most of them were self-inflicted by the employees themselves. I firmly believe -- especially based on the quality of people we've already interviewed and are pursuing -- that we'll be stronger than before.

We're happy for Adam and his job at Anderson. He's an example of what we hope to see from our staff -- good, talented people moving up in the business. We know what our role is in journalism; we're not the ending point for a lot of people, but we can certainly be a launching pad for journalists looking to move up in this business.

Sure, we've had a handful of flops lately, but I can tell you this: The newsroom atmosphere is better than it's been in months. A lot of that has to do with the openings we have.

If you want to work hard, do good work and are talented, we're a place you should check out. If you want to be a malcontent, complain all the time and never offer up any ideas, then we're probably not the place for you.

Thanks, as always, to Moddy and FreddiePatek for the kind words.

 

This is my job that is being posted.

As you can see, I don't post a lot on here, but I am usually lurking. In this case, a post is warranted.

The Index-Journal is the definition of a proving ground for young writers. You will be worked to the bone every week as you work your beats (the nine core schools in the area are split between two writers) as if they were college beats. You'll have the opportunity to do some great reporting and cut deeper than just player features and game stories. At this paper, most everyone takes pride in the product which is put out every day. And, that goes double for the sports section.

In my opinion, this attitude has a lot to do with Scott Bryan. In my travels, I had never worked for someone whose ambition matched or exceeded mine until I started working for Bryan. And, for that he'll always have my ultimate respect. If you work hard for him, he'll go to bat for you every time. He may have been promoted, but the sports section is something he helped rebuild to respectability and, as long as he's there, the bar will continue to be set higher and higher.

I no longer have a dog in this fight as I'm moving an hour up the road to Anderson, but I felt the need to stand up for a boss and newspaper which was so good to me in my time there.

If you have any questions about the paper or the Greenwood area, feel free to PM me.

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I enjoyed my brief time working for Scott. As long as you work hard, you'll be fine.

 

interviewed there last year, liked what i saw. except for greenwood itself (living at the beach instead). i'd recommend this to folks...good people there.

 

Many thanks to fuscribe, writingump and lesboulez for the kind words.

 

Congrats to Adam! Anderson has some top-notch people and you will do well. You are correct in that the Index Journal is the definition of a proving ground for young writers.