Sports writer, Bristol Herald Courier (Va.)

A. It read to me as if it was a specific beat-writer position with a typo in the posting.

B. Regardless of whether I was tactful in communicating that or not, it was not unreasonable, and if anyone interested in this job could have taken it that way, then it's at least worth considering the possibility it could be mistaken.

C. Attacking me over it is patently and ridiculously baseless. I didn't understand the ad and I wanted clarification, which is partially why this board exists. If that bothers you, then the best I can offer is to agree to disagree.

D. The fact I'm now having to defend myself is equally ridiculous. So with that, I know of several good people who have come through Bristol, both in and out of sports. Best of luck to the paper and to those applying.

And so, another member -- this one since the board's inception and in current "under my own name" form since October 2005, is done.

 

Crutch, stick around, man. And I agree with you, Bristol has placed quite a few people over the past few years in bigger and better places. Farkas being right up there, the guy out in Lincoln did good work there, writers obviously too. Is the guy from Tampa who was the Trib's Business editor still in charge in Bristol?

 

Bristol is a great area for anyone who loves the outdoors. The mountains and trails offer a great atmosphere to raise a family or retire. It is a small community and so it relies on small community news -- a lot of which is prep coverage. Ninety-nine percent of the people there care about the prep coverage because they either have kids or grandkids who play or played themselves. It's necessary to devote a majority of the coverage to preps, but Bristol is also nestled between Knoxville and Blacksburg, which as we know are home to two powerful schools. It looks better for a 40K paper to cover these schools themselves (when the opportunity arises) than depending on AP, especially when the two other papers in the Tri-Cities have reporters dedicated to those schools.

As for the current managing editor I cannot say much, he was brought in after my time there. I have not heard too many good things about him, though I do not know any of the newbies he's brought in. But trust me you can work through anything.

The sports staff there that I knew is really passionate about their jobs and the coverage in that area. Anyone who thinks of taking this job should stay there at least a couple years and really care about the area. Don't go into the job hoping to catch someone mishandling money or discrimination. I can't say those stories don't happen, but they are few and far between. If you spend your time harping on those you will miss out on the best opportunities available.

 

I give it two hours before Judge Smails or tikisbarber posts something about how the Godfather has all his facts wrong or has an obvious ax to grind against the BHC.

 

OK, so it's good to know I'm not the only one who's noticed.

 

I was SE under the "new" ME at Bristol at another paper.

I will never utter a bad word about him. He's the reason why I'm at my current job today.
(as opposed to my "current" job yesterday, I guess :

 

anyone got more insight into the area as a place to live than has already been posted?

 

All I know is it's very pretty down there and if you apply and get the job, you'll be working for a top-notch SE at a paper that does a lot of investigative journalism, despite what others may say. I wouldn't go into this expecting to write gamers and features all the time. Dust off your FOIA books if you go.

 

Yeah, do your shopping in Virginia, not Tennessee. Tennessee's sales tax is ridiculously high.

 

It has to be. There's no income tax.

 

so working on the VA side and living on the TN side is a no-win proposition i take it?

 

Because unless you work a certain percentage of your time on the Tennessee side (which you won't, since they already have a writer who does that), you'll be paying income tax in Virginia, since the office is located on the Virginia side. And Virginia has one of the highest income tax rates in the country.