Coming soon (we assume), SE in Asbury Park, NJ

I was not taking a shot. I said I was assuming. It just seemed odd to say 'about to take' and 'coming soon (we assume)' because if the brass knew I assumed the job would be posted or we could say 'He's taken it' because once you tell your brass, then it's taken.

It was a question, not a shot.

 

Yes, Greig has told the brass. So no one outed him here.

And yes, I work there so I can say this with absolute certainty.

 

Ok, I'm from New Jersey but it's a nice area, no? If I recall correctly, it's actually located in Neptune, just south of Asbury, and inland, aren't house prices somewhat reasonable? So you got the beach, a 90 minute drive to New York and the Stone Pony right next door.

Or has my Garden State nostalgia completely overwhelmed me? :-\

 

Reasonable and New Jersey real estate prices don't mix.

 

cost of living in the area is outrageous but I'm sure this job pays pretty well ... as far as buying a house, good luck with that, I'm a former renter in the area and one bedroom apartments are in the 900-1100 a month range

 

It's Gannett. Doubt the pay is stellar.

 

I'm just saying, it's a sports editor at a pretty big paper, it's not like whoever gets this job - if they even fill it - would have to get by on a measily salary

That being said, there has been a mass exidous of the sports staff over the past couple years, full time writers leave and they replace them with part time desk people, also, they have really cut back on their coverage of profesional sports, relying on the AP a lot, meaning it is just like any other Gannett rag ... PREPS, PREPS, PREPS

 

We have been told they will fill the position. But don't assume anything about salary or anything else. The track record of late hasn't been stellar on any count. And the cost of living is expensive. The rental prices cited earlier in this thread are on the money. If you want to buy, you'd better be coming with a decent downpayment, the bigger the better.

Also, to clarify about pro coverage: There are no pro beats at the paper now, except for one writer who's basically grandfathered into his position. "Staff writer" bylines on pro teams are almost all from Gannett's Westchester Journal News writers. The statement about full-time writers leaving and being replaced with part-time deskers is incorrect. The desk has lost staff, and those openings have been filled internally with writers or people moved from other departments. The writing staff full-timers who've departed were replaced by part-time writers who were promoted to full-time. And most of those part-time positions have been eliminated.

 

solid choice by management. make the boys earning medical earn it. ... bastards.

 

Tom, I don't know if this is sarcastic or what, but let me clarify:

The folks who've been "promoted" to deskwork include a writer who wouldn't know a deadline if it bit him in the ass, a guy who's been bounced from two other papers and bounced around the newsroom because he's indecisive, and a gal who doesn't know basic sports lingo but was put on the copy desk because she wanted to work in sports.

Correct me if I'm totally mistaken here, but is that the kind of thing that would give any writer confidence that hard work is going to result in a promotion? Especially with all the pro beats having been eliminated? The only pro team we cover is a minor-league baseball team. How many people really get into this business saying, "Gee, someday I could be the beat writer for the Lakewood BlueClaws!" (Oh, yeah, forgot to point out that we don't travel with them, either.)

My point about the part-timers who were promoted to full-time was not a knock on those kids. My point is that none of the part-time positions were replaced.

Right now, this is a very tough place to be. Especially if you want to be involved in a comprehensive sports package. We are not that package, not by a long shot.

 

Why do I have this sinking feeling about the last post? You might want to tread carefully; there's a lot of eyes on this board, and I can think of a few people who've lost their jobs in large part because of what they posted here.

 

Gannett loves to do things like this, but criticize them? No way! Ha. Remember when the Montreal Expos were more famous for who they let go because they couldn't pay them? Larry Walker, Pedro Martinez, etc. You could put together a pretty good staff of former Gannett people who left because they just couldn't stand being in a Gannett environment anymore.