Should a Sports Editor write or manage?

I think this really depends on the size of the paper...of course with a small staff, the SE would probably need to help out with producing some copy as well. I know as an SE I would always want to stay somewhat involved in that part of the process...but staffing and coverage area would dictate how involved the SE needs to be.

Of course, the SE needs to make time for those other managerial parts of the job along with design and such, so moving into the SE position almost always would mean cutting back in producing copy.

Interesting topic.

 

It really does depend on the skills of the SE and the situation (staff size and such). As has been mentioned, a good sports editor's most important skill is knowing how to put every member of the staff in the best role to succeed. That includes the SE.

I've seen most of the sports editors I worked with in a positive light. Maybe that's just my personality. Maybe it's because my first boss was the worst SE I have ever encountered. Bar none. No respect for the business. Terrible manager. Horrible writer who would even make up quotes. Didn't care about conflicts of interest. Didn't stand up for his reporters when they had a problem. Sexually harrassed an intern (I found out about that one much later). More stuff I can't even get into. Sadly, I'm not even exaggerating.

So, of course, he ended up leaving for a better-paying job.

Lucky for me, my next boss was a great guy who had a knack for putting people in the best role to succeed. The SE had to write on that staff, but he really focused on making sure his staff got every opportunity to shine.

The next guy cherry-picked big time. Some of you mentioned this as a big problem and I saw it first-hand. I don't think you can be selfish and be a good SE.

 

Lynn Hoppes just curled up in the fetal position and he has no idea why.

 

Cherry-picking bugs me big time. I just don't get it and it's very unprofessional. If reporters need help with me picking up slack and to ease the workload, I'll do it, but I'll never take a story of theirs and make it mine just because of its status.

 

I never cherry-picked when I was managing editor, but I filled in covering the ACC Tournament in men's soccer once. The reporter I filled in for was going down to his college town in another state for an Ultimate Frisbee tourney. I gladly did that for him since he pinch hit for me when I went on vacation a month prior.

The guy then took over for me when I had cancer surgery a week later, even though he had just given his two-weeks notice. He did so willingly.

 

See, that's perfectly fine in my eyes. It just irritates me when SEs take a story off a reporter's beat simply because of its bigger prominence in the whole scheme of things.

 

Staff size matters. If your section and staff is big enough like at a metro, then you shouldn't write, rather manage the staff. But,if you are a manager and a designer, then you should also be a writer. Just don't take the top beats, do the dirty work.

 

It boggles my mind how certain people become managers, not just in journalism, but any field.

 

As a post-script, since he covered the first match of the tournament (prior to his departure for the tournament) and since he wrote sort of a wrap up of the tournament (and since he had been the beat writer of record), I put his name first in the byline.

He actually told me he didn't care who had the name first. He probably would have rather had mine first. But I wasn't going to do an ego trip.

 

Exactly what I would have done. I would hope that this act would be of the norm rather than unusual in today's business, though.