Wilson Times Sportswriter, Wilson, NC

The Wilson Times, an award-winning daily in North Carolina, seeks a sports staff writer. Duties will include writing game stories, features and columns as well as some photography, pagination and Web projects. Coverage ranges from community and youth sports to Atlantic Coast Conference schools. We are looking for a self-motivated writer with a passion for covering local sports. Experience with Adobe InDesign a plus. Please send resume and clips to Paul Durham, sports editor, at paul@wilsontimes.com.

Pretty solid section with a good reputation. Small-town paper that went through a big redesign last year. They cover the heck out of preps and do what they can with ACC/ECU. You will work your butt off with this job. A good place for a fresh grad to get his or her feet wet.

 

Paul Durham is good people. You wouldn't go wrong working for him.

 

Can second the talk of Paul. Worked there for almost 3 years so I can be a good source of information if you need to know anything. PM me, I may be out of the loop when it comes to up to date stuff, but Wilson was a nice place to live and I got some good experience.

Who left and where did they go?

 

i heard michael lindsay went/is going to high point ...

 

yep, that's correct

 

Well, that answers another question I had. Congrats to Michael. He's going to be worked to the bone in High Point.

 

Congrats to Michael! He is one of the good guys and worked his butt off when I was there, glad to see he is getting to move on.

 

It may be a good move, but it should be pointed out that High Point is a Paxton paper.

 

Yeah, somehow I forgot to include my customary Paxton warning. With that being said, the High SE, Mark McKinney is a good guy. So their other sports staffer, Greer Smith. Greer is a veteran of the business and knows his stuff. But the deadlines there are just crazy early because the Enterprise is printed in Durham.

 

I certainly appreciate the well-wishes from those who have commented on my move from Wilson to High Point. While I enjoyed my time in Wilson and learned a lot there, I felt like it was time to move on to a new challenge.
I worked in High Point as a stringer during my senior year at Carolina, so I'm well aware of the warnings of the job going into it. I know how hard Steve Hanf worked and how much I have to live up to, but he was such a great mentor to me even after I left High Point that I feel confident I can grow into doing many of the same things he did. If so, then I should be prepared for any number of things in the future, because Steve did it all.
The HPE's deadlines are fairly early, but not much different than Wilson's -- about 15 minutes earlier during the week and about 40 minutes on Fridays. And, really, there are many similarities between the jobs, but a slightly higher circulation and more responsibilities in High Point made it hard for me (a single 26-year-old) to pass up. I hope it turns out to be a good career move.
As far as Wilson goes, it's a great place for somebody coming out of college (like I was) who is looking to invest in his/her career or someone who has a family to keep him/her occupied. There are plenty of good teams to cover, so the job will keep you busy. But if you're looking for a job to kill time between nights out, good luck. You're about an hour from Raleigh or Greenville, so it is doable but it takes some effort. Wilson's has some good things popping up, like a Target, a Best Buy and an Olive Garden, but it's still a small country town. So if you're OK with that, then you should be fine.
If there are any questions about the particulars of the job, feel free to ask me. I'd be glad to give some insight into what I did as a staff writer and as assistant sports editor.

 

Welcome to the Piedmont, Michael. We'll be crossing paths. Good luck to you in High Point.

 

Thanks, Tarheel. I look forward to it. It's been a very pleasant transition from Wilson to High Point. I was sad to leave the folks in Wilson but happy to see so many old, friendly faces upon my return home.
Like I said, I'd be glad to answer any questions about Wilson. I did a wide variety of tasks and Pauly D and I got along pretty well, so I hope I can give some insight to anyone interested in the job.