Sports writer, Danville Register & Bee

Here is the ad on JournalismJobs.com:

Company: The Register & Bee
Position: Sports reporter
Location: Danville, Virginia
Job Status: Full-time
Salary: Not Specified
Ad Expires: July 17, 2012
Job ID: 1187325

Description:
The Register & Bee, a daily newspaper in Danville in southern Virginia, is anticipating an opening for a sports writer to cover local sports. One-plus year experience preferred, but top college grads also routinely start with us. A strong background in multimedia is also a plus. We are especially interested in applicants in and near Virginia and North Carolina. Send a cover letter, resume and no more than five clips to Chris Morris, regional sports editor, P.O. Box 10129, Lynchburg, VA 24506, or email cmorris@newsadvance.com with the words 'sports writer' as the subject. No phone calls or Web site links, please.

I'm very familiar with the opening in Danville, so feel free to PM me with any questions. Sounds like they are planning on moving on this very quickly.

 

Is someone planning to leave, then?

 

This is actually to fill the second sports writer position that has been vacant for more than a year.

 

No shortage of people available. [crossthread]

 

Damien Sordelett has done yeoman's work here in the last year as the lone sports writer in a city that certainly demands more than one. I know Danville has done a ton in years past in regards to college sports in North Carolina, but that era has passed. Still, plenty to cover -- a bunch of high schools, Appy League baseball, a DIII school in town and local motorsports. Danville itself isn't the greatest place, but you're close enough to Greensboro and the Triangle.

 

As an ex-R&B act, I do miss the days of going to UNC/Duke/Wake Forest games. But yeah, that boat has long since vanished from the horizon and they tore down the dock. On the other hand, Danville now rates a Starbucks, which it didn't in my time there.

Reaffirming Cosmo's post, you do have quite a bit to cover even without the college trips. The fans are pretty devoted to their schools, and the D-Braves get good support. Lots and lots of auto racing, both the turn left (Martinsville, South Boston) and squiggly-line (VIR) varieties. Averett has decent D-III sports, even though you have to put up with that SID.

Once was the time they had four staffers and good freelance help. So while it's a shame it took them this long to get to two, at least they did. Damien's a good egg and the latest in a long line of strong sports staffers.

Be warned -- if you aren't used to Southern small-town living, Danville requires an adjustment. Not as much stuff there, although lots of biscuit places. And that chicken place north of town ... Silver Pan? Tin Grill? Something like that. But the rent's pretty reasonable -- I paid $425 for a two-bedroom with new appliances and a W/D, and that wasn't the cheapest such place in town at all.

Definitely worse places for a first/second job.

 

What would you guess for salary?

 

In adding to this, there is at least one, if not two, high school teams that advance to the state tournament each sports season. There's really no shortage of good stories that come out of each run.

And for such a small town, Danville's got plenty of college/professional talent. Football in the area is a pipeline to Virginia Tech and Tunstall baseball churns out a Division I prospect almost every year. Football and boys basketball reign supreme when it comes to what people want.

The D-Braves don't start their season until mid-June, so there's a little reprieve from high school sports season until that kicks off. Danville is the primary starting spot for the Braves' top prospects, which lends itself to quality stories there.

 

Would it feasible for my significant other to have a job in G'boro? I ask because doing some research, it seems Danville isn't exactly filled to the brim with job opportunities. If we lived, say, halfway between or some such, is it that long a haul with traffic? Or is that unrealistic?

 

Greensboro isn't bad. Probably 45 minutes? I stayed in Greensboro when I covered the NASCAR races at Martinsville, and it was probably an hour and some, and not that bad of a drive. I think that would definitely be doable.

 

Feasable if the spouse doesn't mind a commute. There isn't much directly south of Danville in terms of housing, so you'd have to choose between living in Danville or living in one of the other areas. I think one of the guys working there during my time had a spouse in G'Boro. That's about an hour away, straight down U.S. 29. Durham and Chapel Hill are also about an hour away, with the Research Triangle a little further and Raleigh more like 1:30-1:45. Lynchburg is about an hour-ish north as well.

Not sure what the paper policy is about living outside the circulation area. I was told I could, but they discouraged. One SE lived in Chapel Hill, and a co-worker was in Martinsville. That might have changed by now.

Robertobajo: If I had to guess, mid 20s, give or take. But it's been some time since I worked there.

 

I think a former R&B sports staffer who now works at the Greensboro paper commuted from Danville for a while. He might still.

When I worked at the R&B I commuted from Durham, where my fiance was going to school. It was 50 minutes door to door. I wouldn't say I loved the drive, but it wasn't anything I couldn't live with.