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Sports Writer, Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

Discussion in 'Journalism Jobs' started by Drip, Feb 17, 2011.

  1. Drip

    Drip Active Member

    This one comes up about every six months or so.

    The Northwest Florida Daily News in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., is seeking an ambitious, skilled and versatile sports reporter to provide extensive coverage of the area’s sports scene both in print and online. The reporter will be the lead writer for high school sports and must be passionate about covering our local prep athletes and teams. The reporter will also cover community sporting events and write features focusing on the many outdoors activities available in Northwest Florida. Ability to perform on tight deadlines and to work across multimedia platforms is required. Those interested in the position should send a letter, resume and writing samples to Daily News Sports Editor Travis Downey at tdowney@nwfdailynews.com.
     
  2. nmsports

    nmsports Member

    "This one comes up about every six months or so."

    Any idea why?
     
  3. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    Great location.
     
  4. dkphxf

    dkphxf Member

    Maybe because you're living in the midst of a huge gray spot -- http://maps.google.com/maps?q=fort+walton+beach+florida&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:eek:fficial&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Fort+Walton+Beach,+FL&gl=us&ei=XYVdTeHeK9Khtweum8m5Cw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CB8Q8gEwAA?
     
  5. bumpy mcgee

    bumpy mcgee Well-Known Member

    I second Mizzou. My wife and I went to this area for a week a few years ago. If word gets out that this job is open I'd get nagged everyday to apply.
     
  6. Matt Stephens

    Matt Stephens Well-Known Member

    Possibly a lot of folks advancing out of the position, too.
     
  7. Drip

    Drip Active Member

    Poor pay. Great weather. Heavy workload. That usually is a perfect combination for high turnover.
     
  8. BrianGriffin

    BrianGriffin Active Member

    That's just the surge from the last hurricane to blow through there.
     
  9. Shifty Squid

    Shifty Squid Member

    From my experience, they do bring in some pretty solid people for these jobs. But there is a lot of teams to cover, a good deal of travel when some of them advance in state and not enough staff to do it all. They also cover some pretty damn successful junior college stuff, so the small staff is stretched pretty thin during the school year.

    When I was in the area, the people I met from the paper were all friendly, professional and probably a bit overworked. Of course, that's gonna be the case with just about any smallish newspaper job these days, and not all of them have white sand beaches to go to relax in whatever downtime you can find. That goes to say, I'd imagine there are worse situations to be in.
     
  10. Drip

    Drip Active Member

    Being on a white sandy beach with no money for a cold adult beverage isn't fun.
     
  11. HackyMcHack

    HackyMcHack Member

    Looks like there has been an SE change ... Adam Pruiett was the sports editor. Travis was on staff as a high school writer, hence the opening. This shop was actually stable during the first part of the 2000s, but there has been a decent amount of turnover during the past five years for various reasons.

    Can't speak as to current pay ... it was OK several years ago, but that was before Freedom went BK. There is some really strong high school football and baseball there ... most definitely some legit talent there. The junior college just built a new basketball facility, and there are some high-end gulf fishing tournaments that go on. And, of course, all the beach living you can handle, including some good nightlife in Destin.

    All the design work these days for this paper is done in Panama City. Definitely some good people in that shop, including the top editor, Colin Lipnicky, who was the managing editor for a number of years before recently taking the top spot.
     
  12. novelist_wannabe

    novelist_wannabe Well-Known Member

    It's a small paper. There's turnover. It's not a destination job. It's a stepping stone.
     
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