Sports Editor, The Robesonian

Amen, brother. You're describing my old shop. News staff would mossy in at 8 a.m. That was lunch time for me. And damn that agate page.

 

Agate page is much easier to do at a PM, in my opinion. All the agate moves in one take at 3 a.m.... That was one downside of the move to AM cycle at my last shop. We had to pull agate as it moved...which, as you know with AP, doesn't always happen as quickly as we want it to.

 

One of the reasons I was at my desk at 4 a.m.

Understand the AM perspective, too. We were a Sunday morning. Often, some agate item was the last thing I was waiting for.

 

Me too... on more than one occasion. With an 11:30 p.m. page-off-the-floor deadline, that often made it tough. Luckily, during baseball season we could push it a bit if we were waiting for a White Sox or Cubs box... (our publisher was a Chicago sports fan).

 

I have worked at two PM papers and the split shift was tough. But the agate was easy for reasons others have already explained. As for the Robesonian, they have had so much turnover, it makes me wonder what's going on there. That is a rough area to live, which could explain some of the departures. Douglas also has to have something to do with it. Too many posters have said negative things about him. Some of it has to be true.

 

We have not had a lot of turnover. From 2004 until 2007 we basically had the same staff. I now have three new guys, including the one who is leaving. Before that, we had a staff of three in sports who stayed collectively about 5 and a half years. This is a stepping stone job, nobody should consider it a destination.
I have had probably 25 people work in sports in my 13 years and I am sure some of them didn't like me. I have worked for three newspapers, the first stint for six years, second for six, and the latest for 13, and worked for a total of eight publishers during that time. I have never been written up for my behavior. Not once.. Yea, during that time I am sure there are people who didn't like me, and I will even take some of the blame. But generally speaking, if people come to work on time and do their job, they don't have a problem. That is why I suggest actually calling people who work there instead of depending on information from nameless, faceless people on a message board. People in journalism should understand the value of getting information first hand.

 

Donnie, 25 people in 13 years seems like high turnover to me.

 

The Robesonian is owned by Heartland Publications. I don't know Donnie, but Heartland is a bigger red flag than anything you can say about the editor, town, paper, etc...

* Edited because I'm an idiot.

 

There is a ton of turnover at that paper, not just in sports but all around...Look, this is the way I feel....People who feel the need to go around saying they are good guys and easy to work for usually aren't....From FIRST HAND experience Douglas made my life a living hell, made it miserable....I can tell you some pretty weird stories about the guy and his involvement with some staff members but won't....Buyer beware....Unemployment is better than going there.

 

SCEditor is right about Heartland.

 

When I was there it was CNHI....The thing is that paper serves a valuable purpose in that area...It's a first read for a lot of people over the Fayetteville Observer Times....It could be great without DD

 

no doubt...that seems to confirm all the red-flag notices about this paper and the people in charge there.