Scheduling a two-man sports department

Y'all have a game every day??

 

Typically. Besides Sunday, of course. Since our paper is five minutes from the state line, we have four high schools in each state. And those states have opposite days for games, at least in the winter. One has Mondays and Wednesdays, while the other is Tuesday and Friday. But both sprinkle in games on Thursdays and Saturdays, too.

And if it's not a game, we have a indoor track meet or a cross-country ski meet (or something similar) on a weekend. (Alpine, anyone?)

 

My first journalism job was also a two-man staff at (initially) a 6 day per week paper (no Saturday). We both worked six days a week. I believe I took off Sunday, he took off Monday. Neither of us had family in the area, so we didn't mind only getting one day off per week. Not sure how I would have felt if I had more responsibility than just myself.

Because it was a morning paper, neither of us were usually in the office until about 1 p.m. And on Fridays, the only responsibility was covering a game, so we were only in the office if we didn't feel like working on feature stories at home. During the school year, we averaged about 50 hours per week, some more, some less, but it never felt out of control. And between in-person and the phones, we were able to provide consistent coverage for about 12-15 high schools and the junior college in town. We also alternated coverage vs. layout, to ensure we were both getting plenty of practice with both. And neither of us had a problem filling in if the other needed a weekend off for a trip out of town.

My last job before jumping out of journalism was also a two man gig. But I just deleted this paragraph after re-reading because it was one long complaint and wasn't productive. Bottom line, I've found it works best if you treat a two-man desk like a team, instead of two individuals who happen to be working on the same section.

 

The month after I'd started, the paper got in trouble with the government for suppressing overtime pay, so yes, every hour we worked and reported, we got paid for. Although if I was making calls from home, or doing little things here and there, I didn't write it down.

The second paper, somehow they had it worked out that for every hour you worked over 40, you earned less money. So if I was making $10 an hour, every hour I worked between 40 and 50, I only made $4 an hour. Between 50 and 60 it was like $2.75. And so on. I had a hard time trying to understand how that was legal.

 

Yes, I can't imagine it is. Either way I'd cap my week at 40 hours unless I was being compensated a fair overtime rate. I'm guessing that's why you left the second paper, sorry you went through with such a miserable experience. Too many stories like that out there...luckily I've found a shop that values it's employees. Seems to be getting rare in this harsh economic environment.

 

Yeah, I went corporate and never really looked back. Every once in a while, I miss the days of covering games and working with the kids/coaches, but that's few and far between at this point.

 

Flex

How big is your sports desk?

 

small...was two FT with some part-time help...now we're one FT (me), a part-time, and if I'm lucky in our busy times some minor freelance help.