High School Sports Reporter - The Villages Daily Sun

[nickfeely]

The Villages Daily Sun, Florida’s largest daily printed newspaper (and the only Top-20 newspaper in America that is still growing), is seeking a sports junkie who shares our passion for community journalism.


We're looking for a reporter who can handle a variety of general interest assignments including human interest feature stories, event coverage and long-range projects that have earned us top APSE honors.


We're looking for a reporter who will specialize in prep sports coverage a new high school just unveiled with state championship-level facilities. But you'll also handle general sports assignments with a focus on the thriving recreation scene in The Villages, home to the most holes of golf of any community in the world (more than 800) an insane pickleball scene (247 courts) more than 100 pools, two bowling centers and four softball complexes that host nearly 5,000 games each year. Our community athletes dominate at the state, national and international level with events daily at 100 recreation centers here.


Ours is a newsroom that values experimental thinking and the power of unconventional storytelling. We offer a generous newshole (about 80 pages daily), impeccable print quality, modern tech resources and managerial support that enable good journalists to become truly great.


Our business strategy is community-first, not digital-first, which means our reporters are allowed to focus on quality editing without the distraction of a digital workflow. Our local family ownership has just built the first printing plant in America in the last decade, which means we still enjoy late publication deadlines for sporting events across all time zones.



We’re also an onsite newsroom that believes in the power of eyeball-to-eyeball collaboration vs. the creative vacuum of a remote workflow.



The Villages is a 90-mile drive to the beach, Orlando’s theme parks and the historic neighborhoods of Gainesville and St. Augustine. We offer competitive pay, excellent benefits and access to a highly regarded charter school system in one of the state’s most idyllic settings.



We look forward to your application — apply today!

Apply​

Recruitment

 

[playthrough]

One of the last healthy print outlets in America ... and I don't doubt the "insane pickleball scene."

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

They have high schools there? Thought The Villages was full of old people.

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

Two words: Pickleball agate.

 

[nickfeely]

They have high schools there? Thought The Villages was full of old people.

We primarily cover The Villages High School, which is part of a charter school system here in The Villages for the children of employees who work on Villages property. (My children go to the charter elementary, for example.) It's a really interesting concept — they knew they would need to bring in a large workforce to support the seniors, and one way to draw people to work here is to offer this school. Speaking from experience, it's essentially a private school education at no cost — one of the top-graded schools in the state.

 

[nickfeely]

Two words: Pickleball agate.

We don't do a ton of pickleball agate. But golf agate? You betcha.

 

[Severian]

We're looking for a reporter who can handle a variety of general interest assignments including human interest feature stories, event coverage and long-range projects that have earned us top APSE honors.

What's the salary? There's nothing listed on the application page.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

What's the salary? There's nothing listed on the application page.

If you have to ask, it's too cheap to talk about.

 

[Severian]

If you have to ask, it's too cheap to talk about.

Seems like a good job for a college graduate. The area around The Villages has a low cost of living. The downside is that person will live in the area around The Villages.

 

[nickfeely]

What's the salary? There's nothing listed on the application page.

It's $43,200, it's listed on the Journalism Jobs listing.

 

[nickfeely]

Seems like a good job for a college graduate. The area around The Villages has a low cost of living. The downside is that person will live in the area around The Villages.

I started here in 2010 at 25 years old and lived in Ocala, about 45 mins up the road. Apartment options closer to The Villages were scarce. But that's changed a lot. There has been a boom of residents over that time — from about 90,000 when I started to approaching 160,000, and from that, the area around The Villages has experienced a boost, too. Many more apartment and townhouse choices than there were in those days. And while I understand the challenge of being a younger person living around a retirement community, there is a very large workforce in which to make friends and the location does allow for a lot of easy day-trips in the state. Within 2 hours or so you can be at beaches, theme parks, major sporting events and venues, hiking and fishing sites, entertainment and culture options, etc.

 

[HanSenSE]

And Lake Tahoe is just 15 minutes away.

 

[Batman]

And Lake Tahoe is just 15 minutes away.

Maybe we need to update that to Lake Okeechobee?

 

[HanSenSE]

Maybe we need to update that to Lake Okeechobee?

For this listing at least. We're talking about a board tradition unlike any other.

 

[SportsGuyBCK]

Maybe we need to update that to Lake Okeechobee?

Blasphemy!!!

 

[SixToe]

Maybe we need to update that to Lake Okeechobee?

Lake Panasoffkee is where the cool kids hang out!

 

[playthrough]

I started here in 2010 at 25 years old and lived in Ocala, about 45 mins up the road. Apartment options closer to The Villages were scarce. But that's changed a lot. There has been a boom of residents over that time — from about 90,000 when I started to approaching 160,000, and from that, the area around The Villages has experienced a boost, too. Many more apartment and townhouse choices than there were in those days. And while I understand the challenge of being a younger person living around a retirement community, there is a very large workforce in which to make friends and the location does allow for a lot of easy day-trips in the state. Within 2 hours or so you can be at beaches, theme parks, major sporting events and venues, hiking and fishing sites, entertainment and culture options, etc.

Not in a golf cart you can't

 

[Severian]

It's $43,200, it's listed on the Journalism Jobs listing.

It's not listed in your original link. It'd be great to update the OP with the Journalism Jobs link or add the salary figure to the text.

 

[wicked]

Do you cover these competitions?

Or this scene?

(Good luck seeking the next ****ing Young Stud.)

 

[PM_Obley]

Hello, all:

I am the incoming M.E. for Sports (and night production) at The Villages, if that helps (or, heck, hinders) your calculus for these prep sports gigs. I know some of you are aware of who I am, but a majority probably aren't.

I've been doing this sports thing for a long time now and the thing is, I was extremely happy where I was before this opportunity came around. It was going to take something absolutely amazing for me to leave the position I had and the community I lived in. Of course I had heard of The Villages from the outside, like everyone else here. Heard the bad about the community, heard the good about the paper. I had to do some serious homework on this one, probably more than I've done anywhere I've considered.

Turns out the paper is flat-out spectacular. Even in print's heyday when newspapers printed money and sections were gigantic, today's Villages Daily Sun could hold its own. The journalists are top notch but what impressed me even more was the fact so many had been there for upwards of 10, 20, even 25 years. Some of them are people I had worked with in the past. They swore by the product and doggone if they weren't right.

As for the community, obviously its median age is up there. I went there expecting a sprawling retirement community and there are swaths of that for sure. But the thing is, with a population of 160,000, The Villages is a city. A straight-up city. Now, I about died laughing when I walked into a Walmart there and saw a towering display of loofahs just inside the entrance. I don't know if Walmart is simply in on the joke or if there is a honest-to-god, Cocoon-Meets-Eyes Wide Shut thing happening in The Villages' Upside Down. All I can say is I've seen none of that crap.

All I see is another community not unlike any other in Florida outside the major metros. Sure, it's designed as a 55+ community, but there is a rapidly growing segment of families (hence the schools) and Gen X is beginning to arrive as well, tempering the overall feel. I can't even say it's more affluent than other, similar areas, because if you live (or have lived) in Florida, you know there are some damn ritzy towns. The cost of living was a surprise. Slightly lower than where I'm coming from in SW Florida and, as Nick mentioned above, there were so many apartment complexes and rentals that I didn't even know where to start.

Sorry, tl;dr, I know. I'm very much looking forward to getting started there. If you or someone you might know are interested in joining our team, hit me up. The high school is elite, has spared no expense on facilities and has designs on being one of the very best overall sports programs in the state, if not the entire Southeast. We're going to cover it accordingly, home and away.

--Patrick Obley