Florida State beat reporter, Orlando Sentinel

The Orlando Sentinel seeks an experienced reporter with a distinctive voice and strong level of topic expertise to cover the Florida State Seminoles. The reporter based in Tallahassee will be expected to produce ambitious, engaging, creative and enterprising stories online and in print for both the Sentinel and the Sun Sentinel of South Florida.

-- Cover all aspects of FSU athletics, with emphasis on college football.
-- Maintain and regularly update our FSU blog.
-- Shoot and/or appear on videos, chats and other digital initiatives.
-- Report breaking news of state, regional and national interest.
-- Contribute to college enterprise efforts with an emphasis on stories and projects of state, regional and national impact.
-- Promote the Sentinel's FSU coverage through broadcast appearances as requested.
-- Use social media as a journalistic tool.

This job will require strong reporting and writing skills and an understanding of public records, courts and NCAA procedures and issues. Strong multimedia skills are expected.

Send cover letter, writing samples and examples of your best digital work to:

Tim Stephens
Florida Sports Topics Manager
Orlando Sentinel/Sun Sentinel
633 N. Orange Ave.
Orlando, FL 32801

Or e-mail to sentinelsportseditor@gmail.com.


NOTE: If you're interested in this one, act quickly. Our current FSU beat writer, Andrew Carter, is transferring to South Florida to cover the Miami Dolphins as soon as possible.

 

Unfortunately, the Florida State beat has become the Bermuda Triangle of the sports journalism world. I think Orlando may be the only major paper outside of Tallahassee that is still covering the Noles on a regular basis. Beat writers (many of them outstanding writers) from Tampa, Jacksonville, St. Pete and I think Miami, were let go while on this beat.

But, yeah, the Orlando Sentinel is great.

 

Which means that if anyone wants to read about FSU, they'll read your stuff. And this is a program that pulled in a top recruiting class and is way ahead of its in-state rivals.

 

Agreed. This program is back on the rise and I think will win a title in the next five years. I think Fisher is going to outcoach and outrecruit Muschamp.

This is a great, great job and I applaud the Sentinel for continuing to cover FSU, while the others just seem to be running copy from the Tallahassee paper. In that state, with the interest in college football being what it is, that's embarrassing.

 

The aversion to covering FSU is pretty sad. How many South Florida papers still have a reporter in Gainesville for the Gators?

 

I don't think Tampa has had a writer living in Gainesville since Staples left. Maybe that's changed recently. I don't know if Palm Beach has anyone living in Gainesville, I think they do. It's a commuter beat for St. Pete and Miami, I think.

 

Landman makes the most sense, no? Guess it makes sense for Orlando to hire for FSU beat. Tim knows his market better than I do, but I've always wondered how far that fan base extends. I worked at Florida's two biggest and best papers (sorry Orlando), however, and never sensed any real Noles passion among readership. Gator fans were everywhere, even in Miami. Likely explains why those papers no longer cover it as a beat.

 

For our purposes, I'm not sure it matters whether the fans have a passion for FSU.

If the Sentinel wants to cover FSU, if it has an opening, and if a reporter has the requisite interest in his/her beat, well, then, this is a great opportunity to cover a major college beat, in a major sport, in a major region of the country, at a major, recognizable paper, working for a well-known and well-respected boss.

There is virtually no downside. As far as other papers not covering FSU, well, then, the worst it means for any incoming reporter is that they could/should really own the beat. And, on a major-college beat such as this one, that could potentially mean something, whether anybody else is along for the ride with you, or not.

No downside there, either, that I can see...

 

It matters if they decide the interest isn't there to keep a writer in Tallahassee.

 

Bob Thomas would be a great hire.