Sports writer, Albany, Ga. ...

Ah, good call on Tallahassee. Didn't even think about them. They're roughly the same distance as Macon, but yes, they are slightly closer. And you're certainly right about Columbus, although that town is a bit more convenient to get to/from than is Albany. Doesn't change the fact that the place sucks.

 

If you want details on this job -- or Albany -- I'll be happy to pass along my experiences.

Rather than get into the details here though, I'll simply re-post what I wrote when the last job was posted (way way back in November)...

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/74363/

I debated whether or not to write this, and I'm not sure I made the right decision, so Moddy, if you feel the need to zap this post, I certainly won't hold it against you.

Most critiques, I can live with. But there's just something about having my integrity called into question that eats at me.

I posted my opinion about this job on this thread a few days ago with the hope that young journalists would avoid a bad situation. It is a situation I know well, having worked through some of it, and having stayed in close contact with others who stayed well after I left. I also have spent the past several years working closely with other young journalists and have seen how difficult this industry is, and getting off on the wrong foot can end a career before it's even begun. It's an issue close to my heart.

My criticisms of this job were simple: The sports editor there has created an unhealthy work environment and the coverage at the paper (at least in sports) has deteriorated in recent years.

I'll admit, in my original post I may have been a bit too colorful in my critique in order to drive home my point. For that, I apologize.

What happened in the days after my original post was this:

The sports editor, managing editor and publisher of the paper spent the next three days researching my screen name to identify who posted the comment. The managing editor then called my current editor repeatedly to try to get me in trouble with him and force an apology. The publisher contacted me to inquire as to why I was trying to hurt his newspaper. When I responded with my concerns, the managing editor sent me an email calling me a liar, a coward and saying that I had no integrity as a journalist or a person. Oh, and I was told I was "too thin skinned to work in this business." The irony of someone who spent three days reacting to a message board post calling me thin-skinned almost made the whole incident worthwhile.

In any case, I was assured that my comments about this job opening were made because of a personal vendetta rather than my honest assessment of the situation, and I believe the fallout from my comments have certainly driven home that point. Obviously this is a pleasant working environment where the management is so concerned with putting out a quality product that they would never waste three days investigating and attempting to punish anonymous message board posts. They certainly did prove me wrong.

In any case, this will most definitely be my last post on the subject, and as I said, a large part of me just wanted to drop it altogether. But as a journalist, the only thing I truly feel I must protect at all costs is my integrity, and so I find it particularly difficult to allow things like this to go unaddressed.

Take from it what you will, and good luck to anyone who still sees fit to apply.

Signed without anonymity,

David Hale

 

What's so bad about Columbus?

 

Typical military town: Strip club, tattoo joint, strip club, tattoo joint, strip club, tattoo joint

 

I suppose that's true if all you've ever driven is the one stretch of road that lines Fort Benning.

I prefer it over Albany, which is much smaller, and Macon, which is only slightly larger.

 

I would tend to agree with this. But that's a bit like saying you'd prefer the chick with the lazy eye to the one who weighs 600 pounds and her friend who's missing a nose. True, perhaps, but it doesn't say a whole hell of a lot.

It also sends a reminder of how many crappy medium-ish cities Georgia has: Albany, Columbus, Macon, Augusta, Valdosta. Do Atlanta, Athens and Savannah sufficiently pick up the slack? They ain't bad.

 

Georgia has only one major city - Atlanta.

 

No question about that, I don't think.

 

There have been some comments made on here about working for Danny Aller and the Albany Herald. That’s why I’m here. My name is Mike Phillips. I’ve been in this business for more than 25 years, and I’m appalled at some of the things I’ve read about Aller and the Albany Herald. So let me set things straight for anyone interested in this job.
I work at the Albany Herald and for Danny. I’m here every day, and I can tell you Danny is a great guy, and an exceptional boss. That word barely fits, because Danny doesn’t run this sports department like he’s the boss. It’s more like it’s a team, a team that wants to put out the best sports section we can every day. If you’re not interested in that then get out of this business right now.
I have seen him show incredible patience and understanding with writers -- both staff and stringers -- and can’t imagine why anyone would want to say anything negative about the way he runs this sports department.
I can tell you what to look forward to if you work for him. First of all, no one works harder than Danny, who has turned this sports section around in his three years here. Despite budget cuts, which have affected coverage and manpower, he has been able to make tremendous improvements in the section. It’s night and day from when he took over three years ago.
I have yet to meet anyone in this business or in the Albany community who doesn’t respect him. I hear compliments about the section and specific compliments about Danny all the time.
Here’s what you get. You get to write. I mean really write. With shrinking revenues in the business, space and opportunities have been diminished, but that’s not the situation under Danny.
You will have opportunities to showcase your talent, and I can guarantee you will have more space, more freedom and more opportunities to write here than in most papers this size. This is a writer’s sports section, because Danny Aller has made it one, and if you think you’re the next Gary Shelton you will have a chance to prove it at the Albany Herald.
You also will be given the chance to showcase your designing skills, and grow both as a page designer and journalist. Again, you would be working for a guy with a lot of patience and understanding with an open mind.
One more thing about Albany. I’m not going to get into the whole big city-small town comparisons. Albany is a city of about 80,000. If you’re looking for South Beach get a job at the Miami Herald. You like Broadway, go to work for the New York Times.
You probably have a pretty good idea what life would be like in a city of 80,000 with a lot of southern charm and a pace that feels more like 30,000. You know if you would like this kind of lifestyle or not. If not, don’t send a resume.
Here’s the big difference in working in Albany. We’re all fighting for our lives in this industry and circulation in every major paper in the country is dropping even as I write this. People in Southwest Georgia still care about the Albany Herald.
Albany has a unique advantage because The Herald is not only an outstanding newspaper from front to back, but the only real newspaper in this part of the state -- and that means what we do makes a difference. That’s the best news anyone who wants to be in this profession can hear.
And working for Danny Aller? Well, that’s just a bonus.

Anyone who has any questions about the job or the city of Albany can contact me at mike.phillips@albanyherald.com. I think you already know how I feel about Danny Aller.

 

So on one hand we have Floyd's insight as a former employee, outlining the relative maturity of the bosses at the paper, as well as a (since-deleted) post from another poster about Mr. Aller throwing a temper tantrum when another former employee gave 17 days notice instead of three weeks.

And on the other hand, we have a glowing review of the paper and Mr. Aller from a current employee.

I guess prospective applicants will have to weigh both sides of the argument and make a decision from there.

 

You forgot the average motels and the bonanza of TGIFuddruckerili's.

 

Hopefully Danny has matured during his time in Albany. As someone who worked only inches from Danny at a previous stop, the cat had a temper. I saw at least one phone get demolished and heard him rip into people in both his personal and professional life. If he's the same guy he was some years ago, stay away. If he has matured and calmed down, he had potential way back when, maybe he wouldn't be so bad to work for. I ran into some folks from Albany at an event last year. They spoke neither positively, nor negatively of him.