Columnist, Eugene Oregon

the guy who knows a guy says there is a retirement in the works at the paper and an anticipated shuffling of the department. the retirement is tentatively set for August, hence the date in the ad. They are in no hurry, but also want to make sure they have the right person for the job.

 

I'm putting two and two together here and coming up with, well...but Bob Rodman, who has covered Oregon State in recent years, is retiring soon. My guess is Ron Bellamy, the sports editor, is giving up his role as the paper's columnist and turning Rodman's position into that of a columnist. I don't know that for fact, but it's an educated guess.

 

Why do they put how much they will pay a week? I've never seen that before.

 

I love the RG and (most of) the folks that work there (many college buddies included, sports desk as well), but maybe this is the kick in the proverbial pants they need to step back a little bit from being buddy-buddy with the Ducks. Ideal candidate? Perhaps a columnist who knows the Pac-10 but isn't UO bred, excells in analysis and can handle having a coach mad at him for a day or two. Not to say that the RG has pussy-footed around the Ducks (or Beavs) recently, but 90 percent of the harsh words in the community shouldn't be coming from the student paper.

That said, the focus is Oregon, Oregon State, preps, Lane CC, track and field, Oregon alum and then everything else. It's a great community.

 

They were unionized last I looked, so I would guess this is scale.

 

It's a very good section. Bellamy seems like a good guy. Most of their Portland stuff comes from the Vancouver paper or AP, so they rarely pop up north.

 

Ron Bellamy, the sports editor in Eugene, asked me to post this note that was sent to the newsroom staff today...

Note to: Newsroom colleagues

From: Ron Bellamy

Today, an ad was posted on our Web site to begin the process of hiring a new lead sports columnist for The Register-Guard. The same ad is also being posted on several journalism-related job boards, including Associated Press Sports Editors.

Here's the background: Reporter Bob Rodman retires in August, after 42 years in journalism. After considering a number of options, I determined in early December that the best way to fill this pending vacancy with impact — to give our readers more, to improve our sports section both in the print edition of The Register-Guard, and on our Web site — is to hire a columnist. The Publisher, Managing Editor and sports staff have endorsed this plan.

By the time our new columnist begins work, ideally no later than Aug. 1, I will have completed my 20th year as the sports columnist here (and my 32nd year overall at the R-G). A lot has changed in Eugene, and in the sports world we cover, since I started columnizing about quarterback Bill Musgrave's first Oregon football season in August 1987. This newspaper, and community, are ready for a different voice.

By August, too, I will have completed my fifth year as sports editor. As with being the Oregon head football coach and athletic director, these are really two jobs, and I no longer want to face the dilemma of short-changing our readers because I can't produce as many columns as I want to produce, or short-changing the quality of our section by putting the column first. As we gear up to cover the 2008 Olympic Trials, that will require even more of my time and take away from column time. Our readers deserve more consistency than that.

I still intend to write columns — one a week, maybe two — because I believe that we're in an era in which readers want opinion, analysis and perspective from us, far more than simply the score. I'll also help cover games as a sidebar writer, and contribute other stories where needed. But I won't be the lead columnist, and so on Sunday mornings after football games this fall, there will be a new mug looking back at you from the cover of the sports section.

There will be some sports beat changes that will be taking place between now and August, and they'll become evident when they happen. For now, in case you'd wonder, I want you all to know that this is completely my idea and my decision, that I'm not close to retiring — two kids yet to put through college should be ample evidence of that — and that I'm very much at peace with this transition.

I believe it will make us better.

-- Ron

 

How set in stone are these qualifications? I see on their own Web site that it says the following:

Six years there, five years here ... what are we looking at in terms of experience? And how about the "satisfactory equivalent"?

 

FWIW: I know someone quite well who used to work at the R-G (not in sports). The message was simple: Ron Bellamy is a really good guy.

 

didn't he also star in some adult films?

 

agreed.

 

Amen to that.

You could make a very convincing case that this is one of the top 10 jobs of the year on this board.