Job opening: Longhorns beat writer, Austin American-Statesman

Well, technically Trubow took the "added position." This one's been there. But, a solid point.

The food and nightlife in Austin are worth the application. My favorite city in America.

 

Allow me to temper the thought of this being a great gig:

Austin: Great city to visit, not so great to live there; high cost of living, traffic is a nightmare.

The beat: Covering UT is a pain because the SID staff is over the top controlling of access, is not helpful at all ... unless you're like Haliburton used to be and name your dogs "Cedric" and "Benson" and ask for Colt McCoy's autograph. If you expect to do a journalist job and cover the beat properly, it ain't fun to deal with all the crap.

 

I haven't been on this board in a while, but since this post involves me I figured I'd chime in. As the guy who used to hold this position and is being replaced, I will have to disagree with the above post and say this is a great gig.

Yes, when it comes to football, sometimes it's hard dealing with the restrictions, but it's not much different than dealing with any of the other major college football programs out there. Admittedly, you'll be worn out by the end of the football season.

But covering Texas baseball for the American-Statesman is one of the better gigs around. If fact, I'd say it's the most fun I've ever had on a beat. Period. It's a beat that's taken very seriously in Austin and throughout Texas. You'll have amazing access to the players and coaches (including Augie Garrido). The SID is easy to work with and has no problem with working around your schedule. They even helped me work around my school schedule when I started last year.

As for the traffic ... well, yeah, it can be a pain in the ass sometimes. But in our line of work, you'll rarely be traveling on the highways during rush hour. It's not nearly as bad as big cities across the country.

The cost of living is more than Lubbock, but it's not outrageous. You can easily find an apartment for $600 within five miles of downtown.

I would highly, highly recommend applying for this position. And I'd recommend doing it quickly. From what I'm hearing, we're not going to be waiting too long. I can say this firsthand ... working with guys like Rich Tijerina, Kirk Bohls, Cedric Golden and Randy Riggs is as easy as it gets. You won't just end up with great co-workers, you'll end up with great friends, too. It's as close of a staff as I've ever been around.

 

Agree with Alan. This is a great gig. Randy Riggs has always been more than kind to me, and Kirk Bohls was one of my professors many moons ago. Austin is a town with way too much to do, and probably not enough time to do it. You won't regret it if you get it.

 

One of my regrets in life is never having lived in Austin. It's a great, great city, and I love going there as often as I can. Like others have said, there are wonderful local restaurants as well as one of the best record/CD (if you're still into those, and a lot of us are) stores you'll ever find in Waterloo. Actually, the intersection where Waterloo is located is one of my favorite places, too. There's Waterloo, Book People, Amy's Ice Cream and Central Market, at one crazy-busy intersection.

 

Sorry everyone, but I'm crossing my fingers for myself and myself only on this one...

 

Heard emails were sent out that the process had begun today.

 

This is true.

 

Process...of reading resumes? Or responding to them?

 

Reading. It's my understanding that they sent out emails to respondents who sent them resumes, letting them know they've begun the process of sifting through them.

 

Any updates on this one? I e-mailed to check on the process several days ago and haven't gotten a response.

 

I didn't apply, but I can only imagine that it's filled by now.