Lead columnist, Tulsa World

[Inky_Wretch]

he Tulsa World is looking for an experienced sports journalist who still has a passion for covering the game on and off the field. Travel and working weekends are musts in this job. You will need the ability to cover the Oklahoma sports scene in a factual, creative and entertaining manner in the newspaper, online and on various social media. The ideal columnist will write multiple weekly columns, blog and keep readers updated with sports news and insight. This position will also serve as a public face for the Tulsa World and the Tulsa World sports department at public speaking engagements and on television and radio as needed. Bachelor’s degree from a four-year college or university, preferable in journalism or sports, with at least five (5) years experience daily in a newspaper as sports staff, and must have good computer skills and experience in business social media.

Qualified individuals will: (1) Write 3-4 columns weekly about sports in Oklahoma (2) Blog a minimum of three times per week for tulsaworld.com (3) Post story links, blog links, commentary and interact with readers regularly on Twitter (4) Must be able to use a variety of writing styles, from short opinion pieces to long-form storytelling (5) Must be comfortable writing about a wide variety of topics, from national championship college football games, to minor league sports, to high school events (6) Must be able to develop sources and be willing to contribute reporting to breaking news coverage in a variety of beats (7) Represent Tulsa World in public speaking engagements throughout northeast Oklahoma, as well as on radio and television.

Interested individuals may send resume in (JPG, PDF or Word format) to: Will Williams [email protected] or by fax to (918)584-8966 or by mail Attn: HUMAN RESOURCES, 315 S. Boulder Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74103. No Phone Calls Please. EOE

http://apsportseditors.org/uncategorized/sports-reportercolumnist/

 

[Matt Stephens]

Sad to see (sorry, accidentally clicked "submit.") Sad to see Sittler is retiring. Often didn't agree with him, but he's a good columnist.

 

[mltru2tx]

Question: This would probably be a job where you would at least have to have experience covering a major college, right? Just trying to be realistic and deciding if it'd be a waste of time to apply for this if all you've ever done is cover high schools.

 

[CarlSpackler]

Question: This would probably be a job where you would at least have to have experience covering a major college, right? Just trying to be realistic and deciding if it'd be a waste of time to apply for this if all you've ever done is cover high schools.

Yes.

 

[mythirdalt]

Question: This would probably be a job where you would at least have to have experience covering a major college, right? Just trying to be realistic and deciding if it'd be a waste of time to apply for this if all you've ever done is cover high schools.

In this market with so many good journalists looking for a job or a promotion, I'm sure they'd consider a preps writer with no college or pro experience as their columnist and face of their sports section. You should definitely apply.

 

[dirtybird]

Mmmmm, awesome sounding job way above my experience level. Big boys head to the plate.

 

[FreddiePatek]

What is Tulsa's circ these days?

 

[BrianGriffin]

Michael Peters is good people. Has the BrianGriffin seal.

 

[Matt Stephens]

What is Tulsa's circ these days?

~98K M-F
107 Saturday
140 Sunday

(according to ABC)

 

[jr/shotglass]

Question: This would probably be a job where you would at least have to have experience covering a major college, right? Just trying to be realistic and deciding if it'd be a waste of time to apply for this if all you've ever done is cover high schools.

In this market with so many good journalists looking for a job or a promotion, I'm sure they'd consider a preps writer with no college or pro experience as their columnist and face of their sports section. You should definitely apply.

Don't be an asshole. Some people aren't as masterful in the employment chase as you.

 

[joe_schmoe]

I've never really believed that a a potential columnist needs to have the pro/college beat experience to be effective. You won't be covering a specific beat as a columnist, so that doesn't matter.
More importantly is that you show you have the experience and knowledge of sports, that you can handle a multitude of sports activities. And, that you have the writing style to captivate readers. I'm more interested in your writing style than your ability to cover the NBA.
Yes, developing contacts, getting leads and having an in-depth understanding of sports that goes beyond the simple rules and Xs and Os is good, but can you keep me as interested when you write about Kevin Durant as when you write about a kid named Kevin who lives in Durant? And when there's a lull in live sporting events, can you find enough Kevins in Durant to keep writing interesting materials?
Some of your best beat writers never grasp that. A good columnist does.
And you don't have to write fluff or get me to be your biggest fan. Don't be afraid to go against the grain, but don't force it.

 

[Precious Roy]

I hope this gets filled in house. Because that opens up dominoes to fall and I have a lot of friends who need to get writing jobs.

 

[SnoopyBoy]

If I didn't already have a better job, I'd go for this! Good job.

 

[bake1234]

Good gig at my ol' shop. The World covers three D-I football schools - Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Tulsa - plus Oral Roberts basketball. The paper still travels well in football, because the higher-ups have a commitment to covering sports. Even in today's economic climate, I don't see that changing. Some very good high school football and minor league sports (Double-A baseball, hockey and WNBA), and although Sittler never wrote about the OKC Thunder, there are probably some options there, too. It's a darn good gig. Best of luck to all applicants.

 

[MonsterLobster]

Question: This would probably be a job where you would at least have to have experience covering a major college, right? Just trying to be realistic and deciding if it'd be a waste of time to apply for this if all you've ever done is cover high schools.

In this market with so many good journalists looking for a job or a promotion, I'm sure they'd consider a preps writer with no college or pro experience as their columnist and face of their sports section. You should definitely apply.

Don't be an asshole. Some people aren't as masterful in the employment chase as you.

Apply for this, mltru2tx. They odds are stacked against you with the market and your relative lack of big-time experience, but if you think you've got something at any level that will stand out to someone looking over columnist applications, apply for it. Don't let the jaded people on this site talk you down from your aspirations.

 

[jr/shotglass]

Question: This would probably be a job where you would at least have to have experience covering a major college, right? Just trying to be realistic and deciding if it'd be a waste of time to apply for this if all you've ever done is cover high schools.

In this market with so many good journalists looking for a job or a promotion, I'm sure they'd consider a preps writer with no college or pro experience as their columnist and face of their sports section. You should definitely apply.

Don't be an asshole. Some people aren't as masterful in the employment chase as you.

Apply for this, mltru2tx. They odds are stacked against you with the market and your relative lack of big-time experience, but if you think you've got something at any level that will stand out to someone looking over columnist applications, apply for it. Don't let the jaded people on this site talk you down from your aspirations.

What he said.

 

[Mark2010]

Question: This would probably be a job where you would at least have to have experience covering a major college, right? Just trying to be realistic and deciding if it'd be a waste of time to apply for this if all you've ever done is cover high schools.

Honestly, it really depends on the person. Every person got their big break somewhere. Given that this is a writing job, put together your best clips and apply. I suspect it will help if you've written some opinion and/or investigative pieces in addition to game stories and previews. To me, game stories are blase. Too often written on tight deadlines with little room or time for creativity and depth.

Now, don't get mewrong. There's an art to cranking out 15 quality inches in 15 minutes with the clock ticking and colleagues talking in your ear. But when I look over my best stuff, it usually tilts toward features, columns and enterprise.

Good luck.
In this market with so many good journalists looking for a job or a promotion, I'm sure they'd consider a preps writer with no college or pro experience as their columnist and face of their sports section. You should definitely apply.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Question: This would probably be a job where you would at least have to have experience covering a major college, right? Just trying to be realistic and deciding if it'd be a waste of time to apply for this if all you've ever done is cover high schools.

In this market with so many good journalists looking for a job or a promotion, I'm sure they'd consider a preps writer with no college or pro experience as their columnist and face of their sports section. You should definitely apply.

Why wouldn't they? They could hire such a person on the cheap.

 

[sprtswrtr10]

Do I get from the ad, that the expectation is that hardcopies will be received of resume, cover letter and clips?
Fax or mail? Would it not be better to cheat on the chain of custody and e-mail directly to the sports editor? Anyone? Anyone at the world want to clear this up for me?

 

[Versatile]

Do I get from the ad, that the expectation is that hardcopies will be received of resume, cover letter and clips?
Fax or mail? Would it not be better to cheat on the chain of custody and e-mail directly to the sports editor? Anyone? Anyone at the world want to clear this up for me?

You can go any of those options (they're all listed; I don't know what's so confusing), but I would probably recommend sending the materials to the HR guy. If you wanted to do a follow-up e-mail to the sports editor, that would be a good idea.