Sports editor, Duncan Okla.

...also from journalismjobs.com

For decades, The Duncan Banner has considered local sports coverage a cornerstone of the news package in its six-day community newspaper. We are seeking a highly-motivated editor to head our two-person sports department. Coverage includes seven public school districts, a full menu of local youth and recreational sports, and national-level rodeo events. There are also opportunities to cover collegiate sports at the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and other state colleges.

We want someone who can write a game story, but who has equal passion for features. Successful candidates will value community journalism and interacting with the public. You must be well organized, love to write, value accuracy, have knowledge of AP style and know how to meet deadlines. Knowledge of Quark or similar pagination programs, and photography skills, including use of Photoshop, are a must.
Contact: Email resume, clips and references to Managing Editor Jeff Kaley at jeff.kaley@duncanbanner.com or Publisher Ed Darling at edarling@duncanbanner.com. Mail same material to: Managing Editor Jeff Kaley, P.O. Box 1268, Duncan, OK 73534. For information, call 580-255-5354, Exts. 172 or 130.

 

This is open again, shocking. And yet, not shocking at all.

 

From what I've seen and heard, Jeff Kaley is the definition of a good guy. Sure, like anywhere else, you'll work too much for nowhere near enough pay in a town that's not always that exciting. But here you'll do it for some top notch people who are really trying to put out a good product that's heavy on sports coverage.

 

All of you with your larger barrels of knowledge can help me out here.

Is this a paper or a job worth applying for? I'm lucky enough to be employed and I don't exactly want to take a "step up" if it's really a step sideways or maybe even downwards.

Shoot me some truth, journalists.

 

...and why is it shocking and not shocking that this job is being posted again?

 

As an Oklahoma native, I always saw Duncan as no more than a [extreme] scenic route pit stop between OKC and Lawton. It's not really close to much. Lawton is about 45 minutes away, but it's a city that's "shrinking" pretty rapidly. 10 years ago, Lawton was the 3rd largest city in Oklahoma, now I believe it's 5th (obviously, that's from towns like Norman growing, versus a city actually shrinking, but you get my point). The SW and NW parts of the state are the prettiest, IMO, so you have that going for ya. Relatively easy access to DFW and, of course, OKC. Now with all that seemingly negative stuff about Duncan, I know a lot of good people from that area. Truly nice folks. It's a decent little town, just off the beaten path.

HS sports in the area are usually pretty decent (go Demons!). For some reason I was thinking there was a JC in Duncan, but I guess there's only a satellite campus of D-II Cameron University, which has its main campus in Lawton (and if you want good high school football stories, ask someone who played for one of the Lawton schools what it was like playing at Cameron Stadium before the putt-putt turf was replaced).

This is a job that seems to open a lot, which I think is more of a good thing in this case. Keep in mind it's a CNHI shop, which has its fair share of horror stories, but so do a lot of places.

 

I suppose every job has it's pros and cons and it really depends what you're comparing it to. It's a 6,600-circ. six-day paper. Going to be heavy on preps and various youth and adult league stuff.

I work at another CNHI paper in the state and, yes, the company has its issues, but not every shop is alike. Then there's the whole issue of the community, which Matt addressed.

Best suggestion I can make from a distance is if you think you are interested, send them a package. If, on further investigation, it turns out not to be your cup of tea, you can always say no.

 

Shocking because this job was open not over six months ago if I remember correctly. Not shocking because by all accounts we hear they got rid of their entire backshop. That may not be the case, but circulation numbers for that paper are down while the competing paper in the next county over is growing in that direction. They have started a tab for that part of the coverage area once a week to try to get people unhappy with the Banner to start taking them instead. It's CNHI as well, so someone moving on isn't that shocking. Good people over there, for sure, so that has nothing to do with anything going on over there.

 

It lost its back shop because those duties - almost all production aspects - have been centralized at The Norman Transcript or the Enid News & Eagle. It may turn out that, for most of CNHI in Oklahoma, it's the content producers that they can't do without.

 

Ahhh, then that's good news for sure, at least for the newsroom people.

 

We have a winner.

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/posts/3215172/

 

The SE who left didn't mince words in a Twitter post by writing "this is how it feels to get out of an abusive relationship." and he knows abuse after replacing me at my last gig in the business.