Sports Editor, Opelousas, LA

The Daily World, a 10,000-circulation newspaper in south Louisiana, is seeking a sports editor to direct its coverage. Poised near the heart of Acadiana, The Daily World is part of the community of Opelousas and the surrounding areas known for cultural diversity, Mardi Gras and the love of outdoors. Prep, youth and recreational sports are of vital interest to the community; the ideal candidate will be able to give those subjects the care and attention they deserve. The sports editor is a key member of the newsroom team and will work closely with the managing editor on overall strategies for print and online. Must be an excellent planner and know how to maximize input from freelancers and part-time employees. Reporting, design and pagination skills are essential. At least three years’ experience required. Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits. Send resume and salary expectations to resumes@theadvertiser.com.

 

About 10 years ago, I almost took a job with that paper. It's gone down a lot since then....think they kind of operate under the Lafayette paper. (Before, they were a New York Times paper). It's sad to see the opening there...the editor lost his job under pretty bad circumstances. Opelousas isn't that bad of a town...there's a race track with slot machines there and you're pretty close to Lafayette.

 

That seem a bit steep to anyone else?

 

oh hell yeah. but I'm more curious about how the old SE just lost his job. what's the scoop, TD? I noticed both the Opelousas and Lafayatte gig are ran by the same executive management. Was this just a house-cleaning?

 

The Opelousas gig came up on another thread. http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/posts/1014982/

The sports editor wrote a column based on an interview that Nick Saban gave to Paul Finebaum in which Saban said some pretty controversial things. The problem is, the interview was a hoax...some asshole was e-mailing a fake news article and this guy took the bait and ran with it. Poor guy got canned.
There is a strange overlap between the two papers...like a guy I know who used to be a copy editor in Lafayette got shipped to Opelousas to work out of there for a couple of weeks while they were short handed. Matter of fact, I kinda wonder why Gannett just doesn't merge the two together....

 

I recently applied for this job. Unfortunately, I'm from out of state and don't have an "in" at this paper. Do the majority of these Louisiana newspapers only hire local candidates? I've gotten really good jobs locally (in the northeast), but I haven't been as lucky in Louisiana.

 

It's Gannett, so obviously they look to hire from within first. Plus, somewhat familiar with the Gannett chain down south, they usually try to avoid flying people in. However, Denise is a pretty decent person and promptly returns phone calls. So maybe you should call her and ask about the opening.

 

Thank you very much! I'll give it a try - it can't hurt.

 

While I'm asking questions, would you happen to know anything about the Houma Courier or the Daily Comet? Are these also papers that usually hire from within first?

 

Gannett is notorious for hiring from within. Plus, with the size of the paper, it's unlikely they'll fly a candidate in. A lot of hires from that area are the result of a a cheap interview where moving expenses wouldn't be too much of an inconvenience.
Not to say you shouldn't apply, but like any paper of that size, location of the candidate is very important.

 

Anyone have an idea of what both sports positions pay? Maybe a range.

 

No idea about pay at any of those jobs. I have a few friends who worked in Houma and Thibodaux. It's a different world down there...you are at the end of the earth. The people are great out there and the culture and food are amazing, but I could imagine how it would be for someone coming in from Kansas or Minnesota or something. Houma, Thibodaux and Opelousas all used to be NY Times papers, but the evil G bought 'em out. Think they had good pay and benefits back in the day, dunno about now. They also brought in people from outside back in those days -- I have friends from Washington, Florida and New York who worked at those papers.