For $40.....

[Dog8Cats]

You absolutely do not owe your shop any content you produce on your own time. It sounds as if you are no longer involved with sports coverage, so there should be no conflict of interest in taking on sports freelance assignments.

That said, I'd get an OK to be sure.

Circling back to my original comment ... OF COURSE you need to get an OK from your current shop to do this side hustle.

This goes without saying, but if you run it by your bosses and they try to twist it into, "Well, if you're going be doing that stuff anyway for them, can you tweak it a bit for our readership so we can use it?" ... that's a non-starter (unless they're going to pay you beyond your current salary).

 

[BurnsWhenIPee]

Whatever you end up doing and how it turns out, MN, please come back and let us know.

I'm genuinely curious.

 

[MNgremlin]

Whatever you end up doing and how it turns out, MN, please come back and let us know.

I'm genuinely curious.

Was told by my publisher that he and the managing editor “don’t see a problem with me pursuing this opportunity” as long as it “doesn’t conflict with work here.”

 

[BurnsWhenIPee]

Wow. Surprised, but good for you.

 

[MNgremlin]

Wow. Surprised, but good for you.

I was a little surprised as well....

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Was told by my publisher that he and the managing editor “don’t see a problem with me pursuing this opportunity” as long as it “doesn’t conflict with work here.”

That’s surprising.

I’d get that in writing from them, though.

 

[JimmyHoward33]

Not stunned, I know a guy covering high schools thats coaching a varsity team 3 towns over. The times they’ve a changed

 

[MNgremlin]

That’s surprising.

I’d get that in writing from them, though.

It is, no worries.

 

[Regan MacNeil]

Not that it matters. If you’re in a right-to-work state, they don’t really need a reason, as long as it’s not discriminatory.

 

[cjericho]

Yeah, it's ridiculous to think you can arrive at a game 15 minutes before it starts and get anything accomplished. First of all, some places there's no parking if you don't come 45 minutes to an hour early. Second of all, if you are lucky enough to procure rosters prior to the game, you still have to check with both teams to make sure there are no number changes and name changes. There always are. It is high school. If you're missing a roster, then you need to find a copy and if there are no extra copies, you need to have a good relationship with the athletic director of the home team so you can get a copy of a roster if one needs to be made. And yes, though you made disdain it, if the paper you're stringing for wants you to provide video from the game, then you're on the sidelines and you're not writing during the game.

Agree

I've gone to watch games and arrived 20 minutes early and just got in as the National Anthem was playing. Covering a game, you don't have to wait in the same line
but if you arrive just 15 minutes before the game you better have rosters and notes in order before you get there.