Sports Writer, Athens, AL.

Company: The News Courier
Position: Seeking sports writer
Location: Athens, Alabama
Job Status: Full-time
Salary: Negotiable
Ad Expires: March 3, 2007
Job ID: 731092
Website: http://www.enewscourier.com


Description:
The News Courier, a six-day-a-week newspaper located in the Tennesee Valley of North Alabama, is looking for a sports editor. Athens is home of the reigning Alabama State Class 5A football champions, NFL QB Philip Rivers and Alabama basketball star Richard Hendrix. In addition to one of the state's top sports programs at Athens High School, our coverage area includes six county schools and two private schools, all of which have outstanding athletic teams. Experience in sports reporting is welcome, but new college graduates will be considered. Pagination skills are a plus. Call Sonny Turner at (256) 232-2720 or e-mail sonny@athensnews-courier.com to apply.

 

Is this listing for a sports writer, as the title says, or for a sports editor, as it says in the description?

 

it's basically a one-man show, with some help in the fall. decent place for a newbie out of j-school. prep teams range from good to awful. pay likely is mid-20s.

 

Athens, nice place. Has a Starbucks over by the interstate. In a pretty good area with Huntsville and Decatur nearby. What happened to the last guy? He wasn't there too long. Basically, you've got one city high school that dominates coverage but five or six county high schools that need pub, too. Prep hoops is bigger in that area than you'd think for football-crazy Alabama.

 

And the best basketball player from the area (now in college) is softer than the Sta-Puft Marshmallow Man

 

Channeling Ghostbusters in 3 ... 2... 1 ....

 

ZING!

 

He's still young. Plus, he fits in with his team that way.

 

he's not that soft.
last guy moved on to the sister paper in Cullman. it has been a revolving door the past few years, though.

 

Good job for someone trying to get their feet wet, but that's about it. It's a tough, time-consuming job. Trust me, I'm the person who held the position last. But overall, The News Courier's what you make of it. The managing editor let me have total control of all sports content, while allowing me to use stringers when needed. But at the same time, the publisher doesn't view sports as an important part of her publication. When she needed to cut expenses, sports always took the biggest hit.

For example, midway through football season she cut my section down to two pages – actually 1 2/3 after ads – on Saturday. Wouldn't have been that bad, but we had a Class 5A No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup – Athens and Russellville – and a Class 2A No. 3 vs. No. 4 matchup – Addison vs. Tanner. In order to get both of these games, along with the other five being played, I had to cut the agate page. Oh well, my rants over.

And for the person who wanted to know what happened to me, I left for Cullman in December.

 

Something I never thought I'd read on this board from anyone -- ever...

 

Sta-puft went for 22 and 10 last night, but what the hell, right?