1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

BOTL - NBA Writer, Vancouver (WA) Columbian coming up

Discussion in 'Journalism Jobs' started by Moderator1, Jun 16, 2009.

  1. seravaf

    seravaf New Member

    Two questions...

    1) What is the circ?

    2) How much does this beat travel?
     
  2. awriter

    awriter Active Member

    1. About 60K.
    2. Very little. You go to Seattle for the day. Otherwise, that's it. The beat writer traveled during the postseason in the past, although I don't think that was the case this season. In better times, you might also get a trip late in the regular season.
     
  3. Actually, I believe the circ is closer to 45,000 -- but lord knows how quickly that can change these days. And you won't be traveling to Seattle, seeing as they don't have an NBA team anymore. The Blazers writer used to help out with Seahawks coverage, but that has been trimmed back largely do to the loss of manpower in last year's layoffs. There won't be much traveling with the team, either, as long as the economy is in the toilet. In the past there's been some travel leading up to the playoffs, but the paper didn't travel for the series against Houston this year because of the tight budget. They also don't cover summer league.

    For those concerned about the bankruptcy situation, they've been allowed to fill a couple positions in the newsroom in the last month or two, so they may have hit bottom. The good news is the paper is family owned, and the owner/publisher, Scott Campbell, treats his job and the paper's operation as a civic duty. He's not going to throw in the towel just because times are tough. Up until a year ago he allowed the newsroom to develop a staff that was much larger than papers of its size tend to have -- 10.5 people were in sports, including dedicated Blazers and college beat writers, and the news hole was eight pages for daily sections, which was often more than the Oregonian received. They also had resources other papers of similar size never get, such as photo techs, newsroom secretaries and a staff illustrator. It was one of the best papers of its size -- if not the best -- in the Northwest. Unfortunately the economics of the industry, and a poorly timed move to their albatross of a new building, has changed much of that. Sports is down to eight people, and the news hole averages five pages -- though those numbers are still average, or better than average, for papers of that size.

    Feel free to PM me if you would like more info.
     
  4. sportsguydave

    sportsguydave Active Member

    I'm guessing you mean "you go to Portland for the day?"

    I grew up in Portland, so I'd love this gig, as I still have family there. I'm looking to work at somewhat of a major paper before my career ends...
     
  5. awriter

    awriter Active Member

    My mistake. I forgot the Sonics are now in Oklahoma City, which means no more trips to KeyArena when the Blazers visited, although you might get the occasional Seahawks or Mariners game. And yes, there are plenty of days spent in Portland ... and Tualatin.
     
  6. Orange Hat Bobcat

    Orange Hat Bobcat Active Member

    BH, if you ever check this thread ... Congratulations, from a friend of a friend, on the expansion of the Hendrickson Family Unit.
     
  7. gutenberg

    gutenberg Guest

    Didn't travel to the PLAYOFF SERIES?

    Major Red Flag right there

    and mentions of bankruptcy and smaller staff and building foreclosure ... yikes to the 12th degree

    I see why the Trail Blazers writer is beating it out of there
     
  8. awriter

    awriter Active Member

    Fletch paints a very good picture. I didn't realize circulation had dropped that far, and the new building is absolutely an albatross. The paper had weathered the economy pretty well before the bottom fell out the last few years and always had an excellent newshole, so it's sad to see what's happened. Yet, this still should be a pretty good gig even if they've completely cut out travel.
     
  9. Glen Rosales

    Glen Rosales Member

    Despite the flags, this sounds like a great gig. I wish I was in position to take a whack at it. Good luck to all the applicants.
     
  10. esport12

    esport12 Member

    Any idea on when they'll open this position up?
     
  11. Mark2010

    Mark2010 Active Member

    No way the Columbian is 60k. Maybe mid 40s. Remember, your entire circulation area is overlapped by the Oregonian, so you're basically competing with them on everything.

    Still, eight people on a staff these days is quite a luxury.
     
  12. silvercharm

    silvercharm Member

    September 2008
    COLUMBIAN, VANCOUVER (CLARK CO.)AVG DLY 44,623
    COLUMBIAN, VANCOUVER (CLARK CO.)SUNDAY 50,277

    March 2009
    COLUMBIAN, VANCOUVER (CLARK CO.)AVG DLY 39,755
    COLUMBIAN, VANCOUVER (CLARK CO.)SUNDAY 45,916
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page