Jackson, Tenn. sports reporter

[In Cold Blood]

Company: The Jackson Sun
Position: Sports reporter
Location: Jackson, Tennessee
Job Status: Full-time
Salary: Negotiable
Ad Expires: December 12, 2007
Job ID: 850737


Description:
The Jackson Sun, a 35,000 circulation daily in West Tennessee, seeks a sports writer to cover its college and minor league baseball beats. The Jackson area is home to seven colleges and hosts the annual NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Championship. Jackson colleges have won the championship the last three seasons. Jackson is also home to the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx, a AA affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. This position also helps on the desk occasionally. The Sun's sports section was an APSE top 10 daily in 2006 and a top 10 Sunday in 2005. It regularly wins awards in state writing contests. Experience at a daily newspaper required; will consider a grad with extensive internship work. Page design experience preferred but not required. To apply, send a cover letter, resume and writing and page design clips to executive editor Steve Coffman at [email protected] or 245 W. Lafayette St., Jackson, Tenn. 38301.


Any thoughts? Isn't this the place that's been looking for a sports editor for some time now?

 

[sportschick]

Been looking for an SE for ages. Looks like that's a new EE new.

I'd stay away.

 

[Riddick]

Didn't they fill this spot a couple of months ago? Guess it isnt so hard to believe that it would be open again. Or more likely they just never bothered to fill it, like the SE spot.

 

[Mayfly]

I guess no one likes the bell and whistles of Jackson, or the possibility of covering minor league baseball and the like. Is the area bad? Paper being shafted by the mother company? Not enough gyms in the area?

 

[Barsuk]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Jackson is the corporate home of Cracker Barrel. For whatever that's worth.

EDIT: My bad. Cracker Barrel's HQ is in Lebanon, Tenn., rather than Jackson. So the streets will not be paved in hashbrown casserole and the rivers will not flow with sausage gravy. Sorry. :'(

 

[MU_was_not_so_hard]

So the streets will not be paved in hashbrown casserole and the rivers will not flow with sausage gravy. Sorry. :'(

I just threw up in my mouth a little.

 

[wickedwritah]

I guess no one likes the bell and whistles of Jackson, or the possibility of covering minor league baseball and the like. Is the area bad? Paper being shafted by the mother company? Not enough gyms in the area?

No offense, man, but did you read the latest Jackson thread? It was a pretty popular one.

Just got it from another source this morning: Stay. Away. From. This. Slopjar.

 

[Riddick]

That staff has to be going crazy right now. Plus, with belts tightening at the end of the year, it wouldn't be a big surprise if this stayed open all year and they waited till January so the new hires would go on next year's budget. Likely what they're doing with the SE gig.

 

[Barsuk]

Wait, so they <i>still</i> don't have an SE? Wow.

Nothing like taking a job and having no idea whatsoever who your boss will be. Eek.

 

[wickedwritah]

I once went in somewhere without knowing who my new boss would be, after hearing that the desk chief had "resigned." (Later found out he was fired, first lie that I was fed.)

I never, ever, ever, ever will do it again.

I suggest you take my advice.

 

[MU_was_not_so_hard]

Wait, so they <i>still</i> don't have an SE? Wow.

Nothing like taking a job and having no idea whatsoever who your boss will be. Eek.

I had heard they brought someone in a couple months back. Apparently he wasn't too impressed, because I'm positive he was more than qualified for the gig.

 

[Mayfly]

I guess no one likes the bell and whistles of Jackson, or the possibility of covering minor league baseball and the like. Is the area bad? Paper being shafted by the mother company? Not enough gyms in the area?

No offense, man, but did you read the latest Jackson thread? It was a pretty popular one.

Just got it from another source this morning: Stay. Away. From. This. Slopjar.

Didn't catch that one. Maybe I was in between sets or something. I guess not knowing your boss would be a bad thing.

 

[InDaBoonies]

Does anyone know why the last guy packed up and left? If anyone has some insight, pass it along. All I'm wanting is an honest assessment of what type of job this is and why there seems to be so much instability. I grew up not far from Jackson, and might be interested in moving a lil' closer to the homestead.

 

[StaggerLee]

The last SE there (Bob Heist) left for a similar size Gannett paper in Louisiana. Not sure why he left Jackson, but I've heard that he's not one to stay in one spot for very long. He's a good guy and I'm sure he didn't leave the Sun in bad shape. Of course, that's been nearly six months since he left Jackson, and a lot can change in six months, especially in Gannett.

As for the vacant reporter position, I think that's their prep guy leaving to join his former boss at said Gannett paper in Louisiana. At least that's what has been out there on the old grapevine.

 

[CarlSpackler]

I'm not one to defecate in public, so any curious cats can feel free to PM me. I haven't worked there, but I have insight.

 

[thegrifter]

The last SE there (Bob Heist) left for a similar size Gannett paper in Louisiana. Not sure why he left Jackson, but I've heard that he's not one to stay in one spot for very long. He's a good guy and I'm sure he didn't leave the Sun in bad shape. Of course, that's been nearly six months since he left Jackson, and a lot can change in six months, especially in Gannett.

As for the vacant reporter position, I think that's their prep guy leaving to join his former boss at said Gannett paper in Louisiana. At least that's what has been out there on the old grapevine.

If it's their preps guy, why isn't the job description for a preps reporter. Cause I know their preps guy does almost exclusively preps stuff.

 

[StaggerLee]

The last SE there (Bob Heist) left for a similar size Gannett paper in Louisiana. Not sure why he left Jackson, but I've heard that he's not one to stay in one spot for very long. He's a good guy and I'm sure he didn't leave the Sun in bad shape. Of course, that's been nearly six months since he left Jackson, and a lot can change in six months, especially in Gannett.

As for the vacant reporter position, I think that's their prep guy leaving to join his former boss at said Gannett paper in Louisiana. At least that's what has been out there on the old grapevine.

If it's their preps guy, why isn't the job description for a preps reporter. Cause I know their preps guy does almost exclusively preps stuff.

Could it be that they're putting one of their current reporters on preps and bringing in another person to fill that person's job? I know Jackson takes preps very seriously. You might say that preps is their Number 1 priority. Having your preps guy leave in early December (right in the middle of football playoffs) would be a tough turnaround for someone coming off the street. Easier to just take one already on staff, transition that person into preps and make the new guy take the less-important beat (so to speak).

 

[Yawn]

The last SE there (Bob Heist) left for a similar size Gannett paper in Louisiana. Not sure why he left Jackson, but I've heard that he's not one to stay in one spot for very long. He's a good guy and I'm sure he didn't leave the Sun in bad shape. Of course, that's been nearly six months since he left Jackson, and a lot can change in six months, especially in Gannett.

As for the vacant reporter position, I think that's their prep guy leaving to join his former boss at said Gannett paper in Louisiana. At least that's what has been out there on the old grapevine.

People who don't hang long at one place are busy getting the quick-hit kudos to move on to bigger things - or better things. Seeing as how the Gannett move was lateral, that should tell you something if you didn't know anything else. The only possibility for such a move for an award-winner was the same as it is for the native son poster who wants to get closer to home if it doesn't kill him being there.

The guy before Heist left for an hourly desk job at Knoxville, my source tells me, because the hours were unbelievable for managers.

 

[sportschick]

Your sources on the guy before Heist are correct. That's who I interviewed with, and he was gone a week later.

Staff morale was really, really, really, really low, not to mention that they couldn't stand each other.

 

[thegrifter]

On the SE thread, you had the Jackson preps guy on here talking up the place, only to leave a couple of weeks later.
Obviously he didn't believe the **** he was shoveling.
Abandon ship!