Sports editor, The Emporia (Kan.) Gazette

that was one of the stupidest posts i've ever read on this board.

 

OK, well that is an entirely different problem, but believe me, I'd rather cover high school than juco and a lot of D-II. There are much better stories at the high school level and generally better competition.

Also, the new SE is the SE, so you kind of have to go with what they say. Maybe the new SE's theory of good and bad is different than the person on the beat.

 

I actually met him briefly when I was there, working on an area racing story, well before his worked his way up. He was there to support a friend. Seemed like a good guy, but the chat didn't last long.

Re: beats, as someone who's worked there, I think it's probably best for a two-person team with no Sunday edition. They want the SE to have a connection to the community, and having that person cover the high school (and the 15 or so area schools) is the best way to do that. As the reporter, I got to know some folks here and there, but I was nowhere near as connected as the SE. Being the ESU guy, all I really had to do was focus on that campus (and taking phone calls on prep nights, usually) and I was fine.

Another factor about why they do this -- job appeal. I was offered X amount to cover Manhattan High and roughly the same to cover Emporia State coming out of college. As others noted, there's a much greater appeal in covering colleges than preps. All things being equal, the Gazette is more likely to land new hires with the promise of covering a D-II college than it is preps. And the SE's probably going to stick around town longer than the reporter position, which usually has much higher turnover rate.

 

Solid point

 

I love how one simple point to keep an open mind and find out all the facts (things that should be second nature for us in this business) has brought out the "I want to do it my way or piss on you" in some. This post has provided comic relief with the amount of what ifs attached — I guess I can blame myself for some of that. Oz appears to have brought a little clarity to the position, my intention in the first place.