Sports reporter, Bristol, VA

Holy crap. Do you have to telegraph your posts?

 

Didn't they have to make a quick hire cause they hired an SE who later turned the job down the weekend before he was supposed to start, which was a week before preps season? I think that's right.

 

You know it! I have to take a horse out to town because cars are so seldom here. Drive-thru windows at fast food restaurants are great. Give me a little cowbag filled with french fries, it's excellent. Sit on the fence and chill out, go cow tippin', romp around with some pigs -- that's what it's all about, baby!

Living in Richlands is like living in an Amish community. Nobody knows about you and nobody cares.

I don't mean to get off topic or anything, but there was a murder earlier this year at this pizza place called Pizza Plus, and the whole town acted like the Holocaust was being resurrected. It's peaceful here, but really boring and all things in between.

The Richlands Free Press paper releases once a week (Friday). The big news is usually concerning Tazewell County as a whole, and then you have Bluefield, Lebanon, and those places. Otherwise high school football dominates the written word. Mike Davis, Chris Gaines I and II -- those guys rocking it out.

 

Riddick, yeah they had to make a quick hire. But it would have taken very little time to check his background. Heck, they could have googled his name and probably found something. This has to rate as one of the worst hires of all time.

 

According to the editor, it took a lot of time and effort to make a hire this bad.

By J. TODD FOSTER
Editor / Bristol Herald Courier
Published: August 10, 2008

One of the most difficult and time-consuming duties any editor has is hiring. Yet all too often, editors take shortcuts because getting a warm body into a vacant position is expedient. It solves staff shortages and is the path of least resistance.

My view is that pouring a ton of time into journalist searches is much more efficient than dealing with personnel issues later, or having to refill positions when bad hires flame out.

It’s taken several months to find the right kind of editor to lead this newspaper’s talented sports staff. I am confident that the effort was worth every minute with the hiring of Jim Cnockaert, who officially joined us Saturday.

 

When the job originally opened, they talked to at least one SE within MG. No interest, so they moved on and eventually hired the person who took the job and backed out. Then, as I remember, they went with Cnockaert.

No doubt that they should have done their homework. Then again, it's not the first time a Media General property has hired someone with a sketchy history or a record, especially for a SE position.

 

Considering that Cnockaert got fired in Bozeman, they could have found out something. It's not that hard. What an incredible blunder. I'm guessing Cnockaert also fudged on his resume.

 

Any word on who escaped left Bristol?

 

Spencer Campbell, who was hired last summer and placed second in the 2008 APSE national contest for feature writing in the under-40,000 circ. category in April, has left.

 

I heard Mr. Campbell is heading to Florida, though I could be mistaken on that.

And Foster must really feel like a fucking idiot right now. At least, he should.

 

Foster should feel like an idiot. He makes one of the worst hires of all time and then writes maybe the worst piece of journalism in history. I could hardly believe what I was reading.

 

Perhaps he made a judgment call based on what he knew at the time...or maybe he believed/believes Jim Cnockaert to be innocent.

I wouldn't rush to judgment. Not without knowing what was known by and told to Foster at the time, and/or what may or may not have been done about it, such as any stipulations to receive counseling/treatment, etc.