Multi-media sports writer, Evansville, Indiana

[gravehunter]

...from JournalismJobs.com

Company: Evansville (Ind.) Courier & Press
Salary: $25,000 to $30,000
Website: http://www.courierpress.com

The Evansville (Ind.) Courier & Press has an opening for a writer to cover University of Evansville sports. Our next hire will excel at breaking news across multiple platforms, produce compelling game stories under tight print deadlines, be enthusiastic about enterprise reporting and be a devoted blogger. The ability to shoot short videos is a plus. You also will assist in coverage of an ECHL hockey team, a Class A minor-league baseball team and area high school sports as needed. If interested, send a cover letter, resume with references and samples of your best work (maximum of five clips, not including a link to a blog) to sports editor Randy Beard at [email protected] or c/o the Courier & Press, 300 E. Walnut Street, Evansville, Ind., 47702.

 

[One Man Wolfpack]

I thought this was Jonathan Lintner's gig. Is he moving elsewhere?

 

[Zads07]

Sounds like an exciting gig. Anyone know if this is an immediate opening or over the next few months?

 

[ConorRevell]

This sounds like an enticing gig. The University of Evansville doesn't have a bad athletic program from what I've heard.

 

[Editude]

That's not much of a salary for covering a D1 university at a 60k daily ...

 

[steveu]

I was thinking the same thing.

 

[One Man Wolfpack]

Man, I'd apply for this if I hadn't just accepted another position elsewhere.

I believe the Courier & Press sends its beat writer to road games, which means a trip to the raucous Koch Arena (at Wichita State) and Chicago for new MVC opponent Loyola U.

 

[steveu]

Amending a comment I said earlier, at least you would get to take road trips. And if the salary is on the higher end, 30K isn't too bad for Evansville.

 

[buck_I_guy]

Heard the position will officially open up tomorrow. Today is Jonathan's last day. I was told that they may not fill it for a month or two. I guess not a big need until prep football and Evansville basketball start up.

 

[One Man Wolfpack]

Looks like Jonathan is taking a digital sports producer position at the Courier-Journal in his hometown of Louisville. Here's his final blog post announcing the news: http://www.courierpressblogs.com/sports/ue/?p=4855

 

[RandyBeard]

The position "officially" opened the day Jonathan told me he had accepted the offer in Louisville. There is no freeze on filling the position.

If it takes longer than a month to have someone take over the beat, it's only because that's how long it can take to interview candidates, make an offer, and then give them time to relocate.

Before posting the job, I contacted several sports editors, including two who have worked for me in the past, to see if they knew of any promising prospects. Two of those folks are on my list of potential hires and I've since identified several others.

I will allow a few more days for resumes and clips to reach me before conducting the first phone interviews early next week. I've already been in contact with my two frontrunners by email.

However, I do want to say that I appreciate all the interest this job has generated. There are some very talented people looking for jobs at the moment and I wish I had more than one vacancy to fill.

 

[STLwriter]

Guessing this one would be in the 27-28k range. Tough to convince people to move to Evansville on that salary. Interested to see who gets this job.

 

[RandyBeard]

I don't think we're any different than a lot of mid-size papers these days, looking to fill a vacancy with a recent grad at an entry-level salary. Trust me, I have resumes from some very talented applicants. In fact, as someone who has been a sports editor for 20 years at three different newspapers, I haven't received this kind of response -- more than 130 resumes, and counting -- for a vacancy in at least 10 years. Obviously, some people ARE interested. But I'll take your negative spin as a sign you don't want the job, so I'll go ahead and toss out your resume.

 

[buck_I_guy]

Did not take long at all for me to apply for this opening. Jonathan was a recent grad when he got the position and to me that is a promising sign. Being a freelancer for several Central Indiana newspapers, including the Indy Star, I have the writing experience, but what I lack is the in newsroom time most shops are looking for. This is one of the few positions I have applied for where I don't feel I am waisting my time putting together an application packet. I would be happy to move to Evansville.

 

[steveu]

Never say never. The worst the editor can say is no.

 

[NightHawk112005]

Numbers aren't all that goes into a salary. Benefits and where you're living matter too. I've had one situation where I was making $11 an hour and felt like I was printing money, and I had another where I was making $15 an hour and wondering if I'd be able to survive long-term. In a place like Evansville, $29K isn't that bad. If the benefits are good, you could be making a very nice living on that.

Now that I've been a few places, one of the first things I'd tell people is to look at the cost of living where you're applying before you dismiss the salary as being not enough. $25K in California puts you in poverty. $25K in say, Arkansas, could allow you to live comfortably on your own.

 

[buck_I_guy]

Has anyone received a call on this yet?

 

[Zads07]

Has anyone received a call on this yet?

Nothing yet, hoping to here something soon.

 

[gravehunter]

Has anyone received a call on this yet?

Nothing yet, hoping to here something soon.

Hoping to what?

 

[RandyBeard]

I did start making calls on Wednesday and plan to contact two more applicants today. Again, I appreciate all the interest in this job. My decision won't be an easy one.