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

Not that this thread needs me to add to what Moddy just posted, but I've heard the same thing about newsroom morale there from my mother-in-law, who does marketing and promotional work in the area and knows a lot of people in that office.

As far as the product goes, my wife's parents have gone from loyal APP readers to subscribing to the Star-Ledger.

 

don't worry, i'm on your side, dog.

 

A former employee here.

Trust me, the previous posts are 100 percent accurate. This place is a mess, mostly because of the idiot/bully managing editor. Whoever takes this job should be ready to get yelled at a lot.

There were a lot of good, if not great people there, and many have left (Greig is the latest). Greig was the third, maybe fourth (I'm losing track) sports editor in like the last three or four years. Congrats to him for getting out on his own terms (the previous ones really didn't).

In the last two years, probably 70 percent of the desk has left. A similar percentage of the scholastic writers have left (and one of the ones left with the most experience was moved to the desk - probably the person a previous poster listed as not being able to meet a deadline).

Many of the new scholastic writers are awfully young (I won't try to say if they're good or not - the simple truth is I don't read the paper any more).
This was the paper I grew up with and thought it was my dream job when I started working there, but when I left I couldn't wait to get out. The only thing I really miss about it is the people who were there, and now most of them are gone anyway, and I left less than 2 years ago.
The idiot/bully recently won a battle with a long-time worker who tried to call him on his nonsense by going to human resources, ending with the worker getting fired.

There's at least one sleazy cockroach in the department who probably reports to the idiot/bully, probably hoping that one day he'll be sports editor himself. He's a liar and pretty much a scumbag, but he's managed to rise from the dead (he got booted out of sports, then weaseled his way back) under the idiot/bully.

I feel bad for the other folks still there. And there's still some great ones, including two legends, Tony Graham and Joe Adelizzi.
Their only consolation may be to see the idiot/bully get his from the new publisher.

The chances that a new sports editor who's not a total lapdog to the idiot/bully making it more than a year are very slim (unless the idiot/bully gets whacked first by the new publisher).

Good luck to anyone who takes this job.

 

why is it most threads about New Jersey papers turn into this? coincidence? I think not.

 

Well, the ones all owned by Gannett do ...

 

and JRC

 

This is my home paper and it has gone down drammatically in the past few years. Many of the top HS writers (Scott Stump/Scott Clayton) have ditched the APP to move on to an Internet start-up. There are some great writers there, Graham is one, but the overall quality has gone down because as someone previously mentioned they seem to be giving out jobs to very inexperienced writers and it really shows in the quality of work being put out. Additionally the pay absolutely sucks for writers so I'd imagine the pay isn't going to be great for the SE. This was probably a great job pre-Gannett but I would stay very far away from this job if you want to be happy. Additionally the paper is really viewed as a joke in the Jersey Shore area these days so although it has a decent circulation most people that want a good newspaper will just read the Star-Ledger even if it isnt as local.

 

it does seem odd. maybe it's the jelloneckaffect.

 

Because other than the Newhouse papers and The Record, the rest of them just aren't good places to work...although Asubry was before Gannett ruined it

 

Digger, is the idiot/bully the "Executive Editor" or the managing editor, or are the two one in the same? Just wanna make sure I know who's who. Thanks.

 

I believe he was talking about Skip Hidlay, the Executive Editor ...