Kentucky beat writer, Louisville Courier-Journal

I'm disappointed, but I can't say I'm surprised. Did Tucker live in Blacksburg year-round?

 

Yes.

 

The Pilot (and I'd imagine the other Landmark papers) are in a hiring freeze, so I presume that also means AP NASCAR coverage starting next year.

Tucker's coverage got far and away the most hits on their website, so I'm sure they would have hired someone to replace him if they could. Instead, they'll probably go to VT the way they do Virginia and to a lesser degree East Carolina, with spot columns and features and the occasional big game.

I'm going to go ahead and take credit for this, holding fast to the belief that my post caused the Pilot to reconsider their stance and break the hiring freeze for this position.

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/85286/

 

You wrote "Tucker's coverage" and I pictured suspenders and a few stains. Oh, and a van full of strangers.

 

I think we have our first serious candidate!

 

That would be awesome, dog.

 

Gameboy, Vicqual Hall will either be a total bust, or he'll win the Heisman Trophy.

 

You're all a buncha big turkeys!

 

Love the Tucker McLaughlin talk on here. That guy's an original!

 

MM II,

Not sure about the hiring freeze.

KY and I work at a Landmark/LCNI daily. In a newsroom of 21.5, we've filled four full-time positions this year.

 

LCNI is a different entity. I know the Pilot is under a hiring freeze, based on people who work there that told me. I guess the community papers aren't under the edict?

 

We're one of the few LCNI dailies (think the others are Carroll County in Maryland and Citrus County in Florida). We have left a news section reporter's desk vacant, but it's been that way for a while.

In the 11+ years I've been there (started when I was 18), the newsroom's numbers haven't changed much. Lost a part-timer (usually college-age) to help the copy desk, but that's no biggie considering most of what the part-timer did was scan photos (most are emailed now) and type in letters to the editor (again, most emailed). Copy desk is at 5 and has been that way for a while.

Always had 2 photogs (one day, one night). Always had 3.5 in sports (KY is the .5).

For every 1,000 readers, we average one full-time employee. Not bad.

However, many of the LCNI classifieds and ads for the weeklies now run through our shop, so they have been in hiring freezes.

As far as major editorial freezes in LCNI, I'm not aware of many.

That being said, don't have to worry about Tucker kicking our ass on the beat because we're no longer on the beat. Our Louisville (40 minutes away) and Kentucky (90 minutes) coverage has been cut to a minimum, so we're using straight AP stuff.