Buffalo Bills Beat Reporter- Syracuse, NY

You'll be zagging. You'll be telling stories in different ways! Isn't that clear in the ad?

 

I'm going to assume that many if you if not all have full time jobs in this profession. Now, in your full time job I'm going to guess you might have respect for those who you cover and those who you work for and with. It should be the same here. I posted the job from jjobs as most usually would. It's intriguing to me, especially as a recent college grad. But moving across the country for benefits that aren't there wouldn't work for me. I'm guessing the same for many here as well. So who gives a damn about your opinion of the job? If you have something nice to say about the paper or know the position then say it. If not, arguing like little children on the internet just makes you look even worse. So let's stop being childish here and try to keep the focus on the posting itself, ok?

 

Thanks for the question. I think our philosophy will simply be finding stories -- stories that deserve good headlines and people will read/click on -- that others won't have. There is an almost unlimited amount of stories/Q&As/lists/other fun stuff you can do on an NFL team, and fans want it all. Don't know if that helps or not. Also don't mean to be coy -- trust me when I say we have a solid plan -- but I'm not sure it's beneficial for us to detail it in a job posting or on this site.

To everyone posting who has been supportive on this site, I appreciate it. There are a lot of good people here. I've been visiting (mostly lurking) for a long time, and I'm a big fan of sportsjournalists.com. I've been a SHEEP competitor and have used this site as a go-to spot when looking for jobs.

 

Several people have asked legitimate questions about this job. Why so defensive?

 

Your biggest obstacle in getting the stories nobody else has is getting access from the Bills PR staff to get one-on-ones to obtain said stories. Love the idea, but I'm not sure how well the execution of that mindset will be, especially for someone who may be brand new to the beat.

 

To those posting about the Bills moving: They're sure as hell not going anywhere this season, and probably not anytime before at least 2020. There's a $400 million relocation penalty in the current lease, and the N.Y. state government is "committed to keeping the Bills in Buffalo, and are prepared to do the legwork to make this a reality."
http://pro32.ap.org/article/ny-hires-firm-identify-new-bills-stadium-sites

Also not sure about fixation on 'Cuse grads, if this is a Buffalo-based job. There are several recent Canisius, UB, St. Bonaventure, or Buffalo State J/MC grads with major-metro clips -- and blogging experience, which may actually be a better fit for this -- who wouldn't need to relocate. (Those four schools already have alumni filling significant roles in BuffNews and Rochester sports sections.) I'll be passing the listing along to them.

I'm pretty well set with salary/benefits in a non-newspaper job, but if I didn't think I was 10 years too late to break into the business, I'd seriously consider taking a run at this. How is it any worse than an internship? And how many interns get a sniff of an NFL beat?

 

Always a lofty goal.

 

If you are talking exclusives with the head coach, quarterback and top draft pick, you might be right. But you can get interesting stuff spending some time chatting with the players and assistants who aren't getting bum rushed by the beat guys at every opportunity. There are lots of "behind the scenes" people to talk to as well.

Maybe because this isn't a traditional beat you don't have to worry about filing a notebook, a feature and updating the blog twice everyday? That could give you time to find the people you really want to talk to and figure out how to get exclusive stuff. Hell, you know when people are really willing to talk and sometimes are actually honest with you? Gameday. Before, during and after. But the writers are usually on such a tight deadlines they can't take advantage.


Moving to New York State isn't in the cards for me right now, but if something like this was opening up in the mid-Atlantic I'd go for it.

 

For what I'm reading as a way for someone to try to make a name for themselves? Sure. Maybe Mr. Domin sees it differently, but I'd compare it more to what some of the better independent Bills blogs are doing than TBN/D+C -- except with a paycheck, credentials (which the bloggers can't get in Buffalo), and travel expenses.

Regarding RonClements' note about access through Bills PR: If you're counting on that from this franchise, you've already lost.

 

I've never covered the Bills and never been to Buffalo. But I know to get some stories, you need player access and many teams are very restrictive. Teams that have an open locker room are great because then you can just grab a guy that nobody else is talking to.

 

Far as I know, the Bills normally conform to the PFWA media policy, so you'd have your open locker room (with the exception of Mario Williams, who only deigns to hold court once per week). Beyond that ... ah, think I'd better stick with my first answer.

 

Can you still grab players on the field at training camp?