Copy Editor -- The (Staunton, Va.) News Leader,

We’re looking for a copy editor/page designer for our daily newspaper and website in Virginia's beautiful Shenandoah Valley.

The ideal candidate will be a strong designer and copy editor, able to improve stories, handle the wires and develop attractive pages on deadline. Editors should be adept at handling all types of pages, from news to sports to features. Our universal desk editors use QuarkXpress and Baseview's NewsEditPro IQue on Macintosh. They manage Web content using Saxotech's content management system. In 2012 we will begin using a CCI Newsgate system.

As a Gannett newspaper, we are embarking on a process that will result in a division between copy editing and page design jobs, with a scheduled roll out of the changes here in about 16 months. Joining us now could be your path to a more specialized role later. Gannett employees interested in design will be considered ahead of external candidates for roles in one of our regional design centers, including the one we’ll work with in Nashville. This is a great chance to get in the door, polish your skills and Gannett knowledge and then move into a highly specialized design operation where you'll be able to carry your craft to a new level.

Copy editors more interested in word editing will be considered for the copy editing positions that remain in our location, and as always, we’re a farm team for larger Gannett newspapers.


Our area is an outdoor enthusiast's dream. Our market stretches from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the George Washington National Forest. Our town is a growing tourism destination with bustling downtown streets lined with Victorian architecture. We have an impressive list of downtown entertainment venues with many others only a short drive away. Situated as we are amid a primarily rural area, we also offer a low cost of living and easy driving access to Charlottesville, Roanoke, Richmond and Washington, D.C.

As part of Gannett, we’re not only part of the nation’s biggest newspaper company, but we’re on the cutting edge of pioneering efforts to reshape the local news business for a new era. Our site serves up about 2 million page views a month, making us far and away the region's most used news site according to Alexa.com. We offer competitive pay and an excellent benefits package.

To apply for this position send, without delay, a letter, resume and 10-12 work samples to dfritz@newsleader.com or via snail mail to David Fritz, executive editor, The News Leader, 11 N. Central Avenue, Staunton, VA 24401. We value diversity.

Per: http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=781835

 

What a crock of shit!

 

Drip, as much as Gannett is loathed - justifiably, what is wrong with the ad?

At least they're being honest enough to tell candidates that much of the section work is heading to Nashville. It exposes Gannett for "making it up as they go along," but otherwise, the ad looks legit.

A very, very good friend of mine moved there with his family and they love it. Easy to see why ...

 

Sam, the ad is good but this line:
As part of Gannett, we’re not only part of the nation’s biggest newspaper company, but we’re on the cutting edge of pioneering efforts to reshape the local news business for a new era. Our site serves up about 2 million page views a month, making us far and away the region's most used news site according to Alexa.com. We offer competitive pay and an excellent benefits package.
Is full of shit. The company is slashing and burning people left and right. Why not offer some of them a gig? Just saying.

 

I'll say this about Staunton: Really love the town. If you like small artsy towns with great dining, you'll love Staunton.

 

I have the same problem with Gannett offering these positions without first looking to see if some of the displaced within Big G wouldn't want it first.

Any chance it could be Big G hedging bets because they simply can't get employees to move to these other gigs? And, of course, Gannett won't offer to pay any relocation, which is a crock ... the least Big G could do for those willing to jump.

And SeanKennedy, I hear you. Funny part is my friends there aren't the artsy sorts at all and they seem to love it. Spent barely 48 hours there the last two years and can't wait to go back.

 

Granted, I was never in Staunton for more than a few hours at a time, and it was a long time ago, but I can't remember one redeeming quality about that town. Maybe it's changed, but I always thought the best thing about Staunton was that Harrisonburg and Roanoke weren't that far away.

 

I could very well see it being one of those towns where you either love it or you hate it. I never lived there, but my current wife did for a few years not too long ago.

A couple of the things I enjoyed about visiting Staunton:

1. Mill Street Grill
2. The Visulite

And yeah, not too far from Charlottesville and Harrisonburg.

 

So the jist of it is .... pack up and move here at your own expense and then maybe in a year or so if you're lucky you can be one of the few who hang on or get be one of the group that gets shipped off to Nashville or elsewhere.

OK, fine. I'm intrigued by how these new editing and design hubs are going to pan out. Might even apply at one someday. But I'm going to wait for all the kinks to get ironed out first and I don't really need the "farm team" experience at this point in my career.

 

Having not lived too far from there a few years ago, Staunton is a beautiful town. That said ...

You're nuts if you apply for this job...don't even care if you're a newbie fresh out of school. This is an unemployment check waiting to happen. Having been through that dog and pony show once, I'd take my chances on Wal-Mart for a year before leaving for a place where the kinks are a year or two away from being worked out to either Nashville -- or India.