Sports Writer, Beaumont, Tx

But you can seize the opportunity to cover a story in every possible way. Coveritlive is the wave of the future when it works. I noticed the sports section on the website had the latest news that LeBron is leaving for the Heat and the fan who fell at a Rangers game is OK.

Another story, residents of Nederland don't give a crap about The Netherlands in the World Cup.

 

Never got reimbursed for my mileage for driving to Beaumont, despite having to fill out forms the day I interviewed "in case we need to cut you a check for any expenses."

_____________________________________________________________

I had a similar experience (re: reimbursement) when I interviewed there.

That said, I liked the ME. She was very interested in doing a lot of progressive, different things, and the ExecEd was a former sports guy who supported the section pretty well. My problem was not with them or the paper, but bad luck on timing. Still, the person who got the job was a pretty solid choice, someone from the staff. I hope he is still the guy there because he seemed like a very good guy when I was there.

As for the challenges (deadlines, press issues, etc.), there were plenty before the hurricane, and probably will be plenty after. That's the state of the biz these days. Still, lots of potential good stuff to do there, especially for someone looking to take a step up.

 

We have more play on Friday nights during football season. We get games in the paper, and we manage to make it every week.
The deadlines are a case-by-case basis, for the most part. 10:30 will be the norm 90% of the time, but for big events, we coordinate and have some movement.
True, a 10:30 deadline is challenging. But we manage.

 

Don't know much about this. Worked briefly with the new SE there. He's a very good guy.
Where did the last person go? How many are on staff?

 

I once got the phone number of a waitress at the Beaumont Hooters, but when I texted "How's it going?" and she responded "Good! At dinner with my boyfriend!" I realized I'd been had for leaving a bigger tip.

If you get this gig, do not fall for the same trick.

 

The last person got fired.

The staff is an SE, ASE, two copy editors, two reporters and the new hire would be the third reporter.

 

One apparent change since I was there a couple of years back, judging by what esport12 says, is that the copy editors are apparently on the sports staff as opposed to being part of a universal desk as they were 2008ish. That's a welcome development to me.

One thing I would agree with esport about is that they are not afraid to try new things. But I would disagree with the assertion that things "work out" with the early deadline. I think the current circulation numbers tell the story there. I must point out that the declining circulation is not all about the early deadline and their circulation was in free fall well before they ever shut down the press. But the early deadline combined to a newshole that's been drastically cut back (explaining the bulk of the earlier circulation decreases) has sent a terrible message to readers and readers are responding accordingly. This was a six-figure circulation paper not too long ago.

Somebody mentioned Lake Charles. LC's circulation, I'm guessing (maybe Riddick can look it up, I don't have access to ABC numbers where I am) is about 30-35k daily and just under 40k Sundays. LC's metro market is 225k when combined with the adjacent Jennings market (big part of LC's newspaper circulation). Beaumont-Port Arthur has 390k people, about 165k more, but sells fewer papers.

I point that out in case somebody wants to make the "all newspapers are struggling" argument.

Bottom line: LC has later deadlines, a larger newshole and in general tries to make a more sellable print product than what Beaumont puts out. Is it more cost effective to follow the Beaumont model than the LC model? Maybe. But to me, those circulation numbers in that market are absolutely inexcusable and sort of tarnish the brand to the point where it offsets any strides they may make in new media.

Having said that, heads have rolled. They have a new publisher. I'm wondering if the culture has changed there at all because, as I see it, they have problems that are pretty fundamental in nature.

 

From what I hear, the whole area has taken a major nosedive since I lived and worked there in the early 1990s. So the drop in circulation is not that surprising.

Even though they are owned by the same company, the Houston Chronicle has a state edition over there, which obviously has far more resources and more to offer readers. And anytime there's a decent story (news or sports), the Chronicle is over there as well.

When I worked down the road in Port Arthur, we would often cover Houston pro and college events, as would the Beaumont staffers. Maybe they've cut that back or out now, which was about the only positive thing I could find in my years there. Tough place to live, hot, humid, bad smell from the refineries and, yes, the racial component someone else mentioned.

 

Staff of seven at a 28K paper?

That's almost as whack as a staff of six at a 15K.

 

The staff is an SE and four reporters, one of whom is the ASE. This would be one of those four reporting spots.
The copy editors are on a universal desk, which does a really nice job. They often post our covers to the sportsdesigner flickr feed. But it might allow you a closer look at our covers to see what you think about what we do or how you could help:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/48527688@N03/

 

Surely you are joking. Forgot to use the blue font?

 

AMERICAN PRESS, LAKE CHARLES (CALCASIEU PARISH) M (M-SAT) DLY 32,199
AMERICAN PRESS, LAKE CHARLES (CALCASIEU PARISH) SUN DLY 36,451