Oly reporter, Colorado Springs

Looks like the creation of one of them-there positions that was being discussed last week or so. Company is also seeking city hall and education reporters.

Company: The Gazette
Position: Olympic Reporter
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Job Status: Full-time
Salary: Not Specified

Description:

Olympic Reporter

The Gazette, the largest newsgathering force in the Colorado Springs region, is looking for an Olympic reporter. This is the home of the Olympic Training Center and the U.S. Olympic Committee. Ideal candidate has 3 to 5 years of previous reporter experience and can send us 5 to 7 samples of their work. This reporter should bring urgency, accuracy, multi-platform skills and a nose for news. The right candidate must be adept at employing mobile technology to report news from the scene and to interact with the public in the process of gathering news. Must publish on all platforms in timely way without preference. Please send your resume, cover letter and writing sample to jim.oconnell@gazette.com. Please type ‘reporter’ in the subject line. No phone calls please. No relocation is available for this position.

 

A dumb question: don't athletes train in Colorado Springs for just short periods ahead of big competitions? Wouldn't that mean the writer would travel to do interviews?

 

Depends on the sport, Bound. There are many "resident athletes" who move to Colorado Springs (some USA wrestlers, just as an example) and train year round at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. Lots of national team trials and international competitions held in Colorado Springs. But there are lots of training camps and competitions going on elsewhere around the USA, too. I think the Gazette has a strong history of going to the Olympic Games.

 

Got a chance to tour the Olympic Training Center some years ago. Fascinating place. Many of the national governing bodies are now based in Colorado Springs, so I imagine a job like this would involve a mix of reporting on Olympic sport competitions, features and news about administrative happenings. There's enough going on there to make it into a full-time beat, although one might pitch in on other stuff from time to time.

My experience in dealing with athletes and coaches in Olympic sports is that they are far, far, far more pleasant to deal with --- even the elite ones --- than the spoiled pro and major college athletes who often seem to feel the world revolves around them and the media is a necessary evil.

 

Question: In a cover letter, is it OK to address the relocation issue and say that I'll take care of my own moving expenses? Or is it tacky? (I really hate writing cover letters!)

I've been told - and my job search has confirmed - that newspapers tend to shy away from people who aren't already in their area.

 

I wouldn't address it in a cover letter. If, by some hook or crook, they change their mind and offer, you could take them up on it later. You can address that AFTER an offer has been made.

While it's true that it's easier for a company to hire someone already living in their geographic reason, I and many others have made cross country moves before, so it isn't a disqualifying factor. What I normally do is say something positive about the city/region that drops the hint I would actually be willing to move there.

 

Thanks!

It'll be easy for me to talk up Colorado Springs. I have a friend who lives there. I joked with him recently that he needs to find me a job there. I'm a trail runner who would be in heaven running in the Springs. I won't have to make up nice things to say.

 

Oh Lord, that it was 1991 again.