Sports editor -- Graham (Texas) Leader

The Graham Leader has an immediate opening for

a full-time sports editor, covering the Graham- area

sports scene exclusively and contributing occasionally

to the news report and radio sports broadcasts.



Our sports editor produces content for both The Graham

Leader newspaper and its companion website, takes

digital photographs at sporting contests, and shoots/

edits video for the web. Applicants must be digitally

literate and demonstrate the ability to write and edit

copy, take digital photographs, shoot and edit video,

and work with a website.



The successful candidate will have solid interpersonal

and organizational communications abilities; an

outgoing personality suitable for working with coaches,

players, administrators and parents; and an aptitude for

handling multiple deadlines on a regular basis.



The Graham Leader produces a semi-weekly, paid

circulation newspaper; multiple special sections and

niche periodicals; as well as a comprehensive suite of

digital products. The position is salaried. The company

offers a complete package of benefits, including paid

vacation, a 401k retirement program, and health

insurance with vision and dental plans.



To apply, telephone the editor, Brian Rash,

immediately at 940-549-7800 and follow with an

e-mail cover letter sufficient in length to highlight

the strengths you would bring to the position

and a resume of relevant experiences to editor@

grahamleader.com. Consideration begins immediately.

Digital First Media – Careers

 

"Also, if you know how to adjust leading, please mention that in your cover letter."

 

Never heard of the town before this, but judging from the map this qualifies as BFE. About 60 miles south of Wichita Falls, 90 miles northeast of Abilene, 90 miles west of Fort Worth, and about 60 miles from the nearest interstate in north central Texas. Population of the county is about 18,000.
As always, a job like this is a good place for someone just out of college to get their feet wet in a lot of aspects of the business and learn a ton. Looks like a rough place to be a 20-something trying to build a life and have some fun, though.

 

• Rex Brown, former bassist for the heavy metal band Pantera
• Bob Estes, golfer. Four-time winner on the PGA Tour
• Bob Lilly, NFL Hall of Fame Football player
• William D. McFarlane, U.S. Congressman from 1933–1939
• Robert McFarlane, National Security Adviser to President Ronald Reagan
• Dean Smith, 1952 Olympic Gold Medalist
• Stevie Ray Vaughan, Singer songwriter (Dallas)
• "Big Ed" Wilkes (1931–1998), radio broadcaster, taught school at Graham in the early 1950s

 

Chiming in here as a guy who interviewed for the position in March 2014. In summary, this company has few resources and will expect you to not care about that fact.

I was offered the position in March 2014 at $25k/yr and they wanted me to sign a 3-year agreement that I wouldn't leave the paper for another job. The publisher and managing editor absolutely refused to let me even try negotiating for a higher salary, or even to get out of the 3-year commitment. They told me it was because their previous sports editor pretty much went "I'll make more money doing anything else" and he ran off to drive a truck for a living.

Needless to say, I declined their offer. One of my friends did take that offer though and I haven't exactly heard glowing reviews (although I think they dropped the 3-year commitment requirement to hire someone).

They made the sports editor shoot video for the website, do color commentary/sideline reporting for the radio station and the normal writeup gamers and call-in score reporting for every football game and several basketball/volleyball games... the last sports editor didn't get a raise from what I was offered. It's a tough small Texas town; not much for social life. Football team's pretty good though.

PM me if you've got any questions. I'll try my best to answer anything you may have. I'm on really good terms with the outgoing editor too - I'm happy to forward out questions.

 

Wiki bits: "Graham is also one of only a handful of towns in Texas
that remains a Dry County and still has an operational drive-in theater."

 

What are they going to do if you leave. Sue you for breaking the agreement? Unless it's a valid noncompete, good luck with that.

If anything, use it to your advantage. "Eh, I don't feel like working unpaid OT this week. And besides, you can't fire me. We have a three-year agreement."

 

So many TV folks have two-year contracts, but so many folks break them. A few of my friends in TV were at their first gig for a year but signed a two-year contract. They suffered no penalty for breaching.