Sports Writer, Sumter, S.C.

Company: The Item
Position:
Sports reporter wanted
Location:
Sumter, South Carolina
Job Status: Full-time
Salary: Not Specified
Ad Expires:
March 17, 2008
Job ID: 882278
Website: http://theitem.com

Description:
The Item, a seven-day-a-week daily newspaper located in South Carolina’s Midlands is seeking an energetic sports reporter. We cover 15 area high schools as well as the University of South Carolina and Clemson University. The successful candidate should be familiar with Microsoft Word and AP style. We offer a competitive salary and 40-hour work week, as well as an HMO, life insurance, dental insurance and a 401(k) plan. Please send resumes with clips to Dennis Brunson, Sports Editor, The Item, PO Box 1677, Sumter SC 29151 or email to dennisb@theitem.com. No phone calls please. EOE



Any opinions on this place?

 

The Item Web site isn't always in the best of shape (especially when they list it incorrectly -- the www is generally required), but everyone I've ever met there has come off as extremely friendly.
Not a bad place for a recent grad, and cost of living is relatively cheap, even by most of SC standards.

 

Looks like they forgot to include, "Must love American Legion baseball," in the ad. ;D Sumter loves its Legion team, and rightfully so -- the P-15s are a national powerhouse. Some pretty good preps in the area, and from what I've seen of him, Dennis Brunson is a good dude.

Most youngsters could do worse than this.

 

Dennis Brunson has always come across as a good guy. Not sure ownership is the best on Earth - it's family owned - but luckily for sports, the family is more worried about city politics and not so much about sports.

As Barsuk said, be prepared for an overwhelming dose of Legion baseball in the summer.

You could do worse for first jobs out of school.

 

Covering legion baseball could suck in some areas of the country. As Sam and Bar said, though, here, it won't be bad. A good chunk of those kids will move on to DI ball.

 

I wish this position was being offered a year from now. It would be a good opportunity.

 

Got offered a job there a few years ago and turned it down. Dennis is good people and Chip Chase was a stand-up guy. You could do a lot worse in South Carolina, but as has already been said, this place isn't that bad.

 

Nothing but good things to say about Sumter. Dennis Brunson is a first-class guy, and he does an excellent job with their sports section. He’s been there awhile, and I don’t think he’s going to leave, so you’re going to work for somebody with stability.

Lots of good preps up there, and of course, legion baseball is key during the summer. Sumter usually staffs a lot of USC and Clemson home events, so the opportunity to do that is there, too.

All in all, this is a great job for a recent college grad or somebody a year or two out of college.

 

Interviewed for a news side job here back in '04. Got offered the job but ended up turning it down. Chip was a good guy, and he personally did most of my interview. Drove me around the town in his SUV, walked me around the courthouse, had me sit in on a budget meeting, etc. They also had me take a relatively tough style test.

Had I been in a different situation, I probably would have taken it. The hangup for me was seeing myself living in Sumter, which is a pretty small town a good way from the interstate. But that's just me. I think a lot of people would be fine with it. It seemed like a good enough place to live, and the paper had a very nice building that was right in the middle of downtown. No big red flags went up while I was there.

 

Guy who was leaving is staying according to Dennis.