Going from a sports department at a paper to being a Sports Information Director

[PalmettoStatesport]

Has anyone on here done it? Would you reccomend it?

 

[txscoop]

I know a few people who have. They love it.

 

[Seahawk]

I made the move recently, and it has worked out very well for me. There are definitely times I miss the newspaper writing, but the quality of life has improved dramatically for me.

With Sports Information, there are still long hours, but it's not necessarily the ridiculous kind of hours at the paper. I was at a mid-size daily, where we covered events, wrote gamers and columns, then came back to the office and did layout, pagination and editing, all in one short 15-hour shift. Those are the days I don't miss.

In my new work, you know game days are longer, but there are actually 9-5 days. I actually have more of a social life now, and I actually have two months off (June-July). The pay is nothing spectacular for my position, but going into sports journalism, I never really planned on having money. There are things I miss about my previous life, but I am, without question, much happier overall.

Working in sports media has helped me a ton in the new line of work, as I feel I understand the needs of the media we have.

 

[Pete Incaviglia]

I was offered the gig a few stops back but my wife hated the town and I knew I could always move more easily as a reporter than SID - or so I thought.

If it ever comes up again, I'm doing it in a heartbeat.

 

[Billy Monday]

Has anyone on here done it? Would you reccomend it?

It's a choice between working to find out the truth for the people and doing all you can to obstruct and spin the truth from coming out.
If you can look yourself in the mirror after obstructing and spinning all day, have at it.

 

[Ace]

Has anyone on here done it? Would you reccomend it?

It's a choice between working to find out the truth for the people and doing all you can to obstruct and spin the truth from coming out.
If you can look yourself in the mirror after obstructing and spinning all day, have at it.

I think what Mr. Monday is saying is that it is a wonderful opportunity for a person with the right skill set.

 

[wickedwritah]

Re: Going from a sports department at a paper to being a Sports Information Dire

Seahawk, what level are you working on?

For someone working as a Division III SID, where you have to worry about covering every home game in a number of sports, in addition to some other tasks -- some schools, I know SIDs have to make travel arrangements -- it may not be much of a lifestyle aid at all.

At a Division I school, it may be different.

 

[Seahawk]

I'm at a DIII school, and yes, at this level the staffs and budgets are smaller, so there are other job responsibilities. My situation is very nice, as I am strictly doing sports information. I'm fortunate.

At the DI level, there is more travel involved (I rarely travel). Because of the extra responsibilities that fall on many DIII SIDs, there is a reliance on the home schools to get press releases out to opposing schools media outlets.

As for Billy Monday's comment, I don't feel I am a spinster. They certainly exist, and are in the majority in the PR field, but I personally don't believe in hiding the truth, I believe in dealing with it. Maybe that is my journalism background coming through, but I truly hate the idea of spin control.

All I can tell you is that I now look forward to going to work every day, as opposed to feeling generally unhappy with the nature of my previous life.

I get to spend far more time with my wife and family, and that to me, was a big deciding factor as well.

 

[You're With Me Leather]

Has anyone on here done it? Would you reccomend it?

It's a choice between working to find out the truth for the people and doing all you can to obstruct and spin the truth from coming out.
If you can look yourself in the mirror after obstructing and spinning all day, have at it.

Wow.
Monday, I don't think you fully understand what an SID really does.

 

[Steak Snabler]

Did it for a year, and then came back to newspapers ...

On the plus side, the benefits and time off were far, far better than in newspapers. On the negative side, the bureaucracy drove me a little crazy.

 

[Kevin Morales]

I made the opposite move a few years ago. I was working at a D-I SID office and left to take a job at a weekly paper and now work for a small daily.

There definitely are things I miss about being an SID, but I'm glad I made the move to newspapers. The two things I really did not enjoy about being an SID were the time involved and having to answer to athletic administrators and coaches, who often have a skewed view of their teams or players.

Like I said, I work for a pretty small daily now (5,000 circ.) and the hours are much more tolerable. As an SID, I had to work normal office hours (9 a.m.-5 p.m.) but then also stick around to work home events at night. Even if none of my teams were playing, we were expected to pitch in with men's/women's basketball, football or help any of the other SIDs who had a home event that day. And even if one of your teams is on the road, you have to sit around and wait for results from the other SID.

When you factor in the travel and everything, that's a ton of hours you put in. I'm sure it's different at larger dailies, but at my current shop we're not expected to be in at 9 a.m. if we know we're going to be covering an event and working until midnight.

Also, I found that a lot of the coaches think that their SIDs work for them and not with them. Some of the coaches I worked with were really nice and understanding, but others were not and had crazy expectations about what my job really was.

They don't understand that you have other sports to take care of as well, they think their team should always be your first priority. And as has already been mentioned, if you try to write anything "less than positive" about a team, that will not go over well. But try finding a lot of positives when your field hockey team losses 10-0.

That's just my two cents. I'm sure there are a lot of SIDs who love their jobs, but it just wasn't right for me. Good luck, I hope everything works out for the best.

 

[PalmettoStatesport]

Oh, the job is not for me but rather a buddy of mine who recently graduated and works for a small daily. He wants to make the jump. As for me, I'm happy where I am.

 

[Birdscribe]

Has anyone on here done it? Would you reccomend it?

It's a choice between working to find out the truth for the people and doing all you can to obstruct and spin the truth from coming out.
If you can look yourself in the mirror after obstructing and spinning all day, have at it.

Simplistic, thy name is Monday.

 

[RedHotChiliPrepper]

This is a move I've been considering for the past year and a half or so, but obviously am waiting for an opportunity to come up that seems appealing to me. I'm in the town of a D-II school where the SID is as incompetent as can be, which makes me think I can do what he does. I know there's a lot of administration type stuff that goes into it, but like has been said, the better hours and such are a great thing.

I figure the biggest thing holding me back is having to learn the stat crew software and such, but watching the kids that run these things during the school's home games, it doesn't seem too overly complicated.

Please correct if I have some skewed vision of grandeur about the job though.

 

[Ace]

Oh, the job is not for me but rather a buddy of mine who recently graduated and works for a small daily. He wants to make the jump. As for me, I'm happy where I am.

Smart move. Never know when the boss is looking!

 

[Smasher_Sloan]

All the sweet young interns you can handle!

Seriously, one of the big advantages is if you have kids, there are a lot of places where their tuition is either comped or greatly reduced. You <u>can</u> put a price tag on that, and it's a big one. I knew a guy who became an SID and soon had three kids on a full ride. His wife was also able to get an advanced degree.

If you're not in a big-time program, you're probably free of a lot of the politics and bull**** that afflict those. Having been in the media business, you should also have some insight on how to get publicity. The coaches and AD will love you if you're getting them attention.

 

[BillyT]

Has anyone on here done it? Would you reccomend it?

It's a choice between working to find out the truth for the people and doing all you can to obstruct and spin the truth from coming out.
If you can look yourself in the mirror after obstructing and spinning all day, have at it.

I think that's unfair to the vast majority of SIDs.

I have never worked with big-time schools, but I have been impressed with the ones I have known.

As a reporter, if I know the SID has newspaper experience, that's a good thing.

 

[Seahawk]

As Smasher pointed out, there are some sweet benefits to the SID world.

I don't have kids yet, but should I still be here when the time comes, my children could attend school for free. There are times that thought alone helps make up for the pay scale. There is also a tuition exchange program that would allow my kids to attend a wide variety of schools around the country.

My wife, who works in the education field, can also take classes here. Since she has to take a certain number of credits every few years or so, it's a big help.

 

[Canuck Pappy]

I had an interview for a SID job at a large Canadian university. During the interview the AD told me that during football Saturday's my day would start at nine in the morning and would probably end at eight or nine at night. First one there and last one to leave.
I didn't get the job, but the long hours were the reason why I didn't apply again when the job became available again last year.
Newspaper has long hours but the AD told me that 60 hour weeks from September to March are the norm at the school.

 

[imjustagirl2]

I had an interview for a SID job at a large Canadian university. During the interview the AD told me that during football Saturday's my day would start at nine in the morning and would probably end at eight or nine at night. First one there and last one to leave.
I didn't get the job, but the long hours were the reason why I didn't apply again when the job became available again last year.
Newspaper has long hours but the AD told me that 60 hour weeks from September to March are the norm at the school.

God, I'd kill for 12-hour days when I cover something.