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Times of Northwest Indiana Sports Editor opening

Discussion in 'Journalism Jobs' started by hwkcrz1, Mar 21, 2011.

  1. YGBFKM

    YGBFKM Guest

    The real question is: What is the company's philosophy on agate? [/crossthread]
     
  2. wicked

    wicked Well-Known Member

    This thread still sticks out in my mind, a few years later.

    http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/33289/
     
  3. TimmyP

    TimmyP Member

    Judging by that thread, I think it's clear what the chances are of Justin answering any questions posed here about the SE job.
     
  4. Stitch

    Stitch Active Member

    From reading past threads, Justin is a "good" guy, but doesn't tell the whole story? Am I getting this wrong?
     
  5. DK

    DK Member

    I think the answer, to quote Pink Floyd, is to run like hell.
     
  6. Hate-Miser2

    Hate-Miser2 Member

    It sounds like this is the case.

    He posts the same job on here repeatedly, then won't answer anyone's questions about why the job is constantly open, why it takes so long to hire someone, why the new hire lasted only 3 months, etc.

    I don't know why anyone even remotely interested in this job would believe a word that Justin says about the job at any point in the process. He's either indifferent to the point of being dishonest about it, or he's very poor when it comes to the hiring process. Having a SE job open 6 months during football season, then the new hire lasts only 3 months (no matter the circumstances of his leaving) reflects very poorly on that paper and its management.
     
  7. Cape_Fear

    Cape_Fear Active Member

    I believe the reason for this departure is family related.
     
  8. RegisRatte

    RegisRatte New Member

    I know I'll get some grief for creating an account just to post on this thread, but since I have inside knowledge of the situation, and information isn't being shared to the fullest, I figured what the heck.

    Yes, this position has been open, off and on, for quite a while. Internally, as has been said here, Justin Breen was moved out of sports into a different role. The sports editor spot was filled internally with as an interim position until that person finally got tired of taking on all the extra work, no extra compensation and no real promise of getting the gig permanently ... and left for another opportunity outside the industry. So again they filled it internally with an interim with another longtime staffer. After about three months, they hired from the outside.

    The new guy was Brad Engel and came from the west Chicago suburbs, where he was SE at the Sun newspaper group. Word from inside is that he wasn't keen on working nights, helping with copy flow or really doing much communicating with his staff, correspondents, readers – or even upper management. Word is all the way up to the publisher, there were complaints about his communication skills and work ethic, and that he was perhaps being seen internally as a poor choice.

    He quit with no notice by leaving a resignation letter under the human resources door in the middle of the night and never came back. The executive editor told the sports staff it was the most unprofessional thing he has seen in more than 40 years of newspapering. It was said here it is believed he left for family reasons. If that was the case, I am not certain. One would think if that was the case, he would have shared that with his staff rather than leaving in the middle of the middle of the night with no warning.

    So now the paper is right back where it started.

    Problems historically with this job are several-fold.

    1) It's probably never properly advertised to prospective candidates from the outside who see the paper as being in the Chicago market and assume there will be lots of pro and major college coverage. That's not the case. It's as many preps and locals as can be crammed in, and most travel for non-preps is strictly forbidden. Staffing Bears home games, 20 miles away, has even been frowned upon – though it happens.

    2) This isn't a 9-to-5 administrative gig. Staffing reductions mean the sports editor has to also be one of the primary copy editors, and that means working mostly nights. That is probably not fully communicated.

    3) It most definitely is not "YOUR" sports section once you take over. "Demands," for lack of a better term, on what must be covered come from not just the executive editor, but from the publisher, as I understand it.

    Can this be a "stepping stone" job, as someone posted here? Sure. Many Times of NWI staffers have graduated to the Chicago Tribune. Heck, the day Breen got his promotion out of sports and into a news management position, he is said to have called the Tribune to let them know of his new gig and see if that would seal the deal for him getting hired into the sports department there, where his resume had been on wile for a while. So the flip side of the stepping stone theory is that even when people are getting promoted there, they're doing anything to get out.
     
  9. Fran Curci

    Fran Curci Well-Known Member

    Sounds like a great job! (The scary part is that this "inside information" is completely believable.)
     
  10. Riddick

    Riddick Active Member

    This honestly sounds like more of an ASE job than a sports editor.
     
  11. Stitch

    Stitch Active Member

    It's funny that it is unprofessional to leave a job without notice, but the same paper can lay you off without notice.
     
  12. nmsports

    nmsports Member

    "It's funny that it is unprofessional to leave a job without notice, but the same paper can lay you off without notice."

    This crossed my mind, as well.
     
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