San Jose copy editor

[German Ethel Merman]

The San Jose Mercury News is seeking an experienced sports copy editor to add to its copy desk. A successful candidate will have:

— The ability to quickly learn and implement a strong command of the stylebook. A successful candidate will have an eagle eye for a bad lede, a misplaced modifier or a dropped word.

— The ability to parse the wires and compile roundups, as well as write preview capsules and game summaries from box scores.

— An exceptional ability to write clever, accurate and engaging display type.

— The ability to multitask on deadline, swiftly moving from subject to subject, story to story, tone to tone.

— A collegial, upbeat attitude, and the ability to comfortably and confidently discuss stories with reporters, columnist, editors, designers and other colleagues.

Our most successful packages spring from collaboration, and the ideal candidate should be comfortable working with designers and other editors in conceiving display type early on in the process. This is not a wait-for-spex sort of environment, and we value voices and opinions from all corners of the department.

A college degree and at least three years' experience as a sports copy editor at a daily newspaper are preferred.

The Mercury News is located in San Jose, California, where it is rarely below 50 degrees or above 80. We're within an hour's drive of the beach and San Francisco, and about three hours from the ski slopes.

The 40-person Mercury News Sports department covers six professional teams, four Division I universities and dozens of high schools. But we know that our readers aren't all the bat-and-ball type, so we also aim to tell stories outside the mainstream.

Please send a resume, including 10 headline samples and references, to:

Rachel Wilner
Sports Editor
San Jose Mercury News
750 Ridder Park Dr.
San Jose, CA 95190

No phone calls, please

 

[Sxysprtswrtr]

Stupid question, and maybe I'm outta the loop here ... but after the 41 newsroom December cuts at the Merc, isn't there a strong possibility there will be more cuts - some time around June?

 

[miamiheraldchick]

Strong possibility of more cuts.

Strange behavior from my former Knight Ridder cohorts.

How do you explain this: The Mercury News just a few weeks ago laid off several copy editors, including a good guy in sports.

The atmosphere for copy editors all over the newsroom has declined sharply.

 

[Jumpin Jack Flash]

I guess I am a retard, but why hire someone if you are just going to lay him/her off? It doesn't make any sense.
This is my favorite paper. The holy grail of places I want to work at. It's sad to see them going through such hard times...

 

[wickedwritah]

From a recent ad on jjobs.com for a news-side copy editor:

And in the changing media landscape, we at the Mercury News truly feel the we've weathered the storm, and are looking forward to a promising future. Corporate owner sold? Check. Newspaper put up for sale? Check. Layoffs? Check. And through it all, we've remained the bold, risk-taking paper we've always been, and want to bring that enthusiasm into whatever the future may bring.

Ad writer seems to be implying that they're not expecting more chops. Either it's blatantly misleading or they know where they stand in the Lean Dean empire.

 

[miamiheraldchick]

The ad writer you mention above (not the sports editor) is desperate to make a hire. A couple of recent hires fled back to Midwest just before the layoffs occurred or failed to make it through probation. Others have recently left for other newspapers, academia or retirement. Also, the ad writer has not merely gulped down the Kool-Aid but is eager to mix new batches to please the bosses.

 

[Gold]

Cost of living in the area is rather steep.

 

[Left_Coast]

I would suspect under Lean Dean's ownership that the pay has come down from what it once was. It's going to be very difficult for them to hire people there. It's the same MO Lean Dean did with the Southern California papers. And everywhere else. This can't come as a surprise.

 

[miamiheraldchick]

Singleton ownership can only hurt.

But the remaining Knight Ridder managers aren't doing anyone any favors, either.

The paper remains top-heavy with executives and is the definition of top-down management (touchy-feely job postings notwithstanding). Ask any rank and file people ---- outside of page designers --- how they feel they are viewed by the top managers.

And yes: I have very good sources there.

 

[miamiheraldchick]

Oops. Looks like another copy desk opening at the Merc.
Can anyone confirm?

 

[wickedwritah]

I would suspect under Lean Dean's ownership that the pay has come down from what it once was. It's going to be very difficult for them to hire people there. It's the same MO Lean Dean did with the Southern California papers. And everywhere else. This can't come as a surprise.

Well, pay would be according to contract scale, I suppose. I doubt the union let scale go down in the recent contract, no?

 

[miamiheraldchick]

When my friend interviewed there, they told her that if she had "officially" two years of experience, they would give her credit for four years and thus bring her in at a higher salary. Almost impossible to live there on entry-level pay.

But now they are hiring young people at that cut-rate price.

Also, they would frequently pay substantial over-scale for veterans. Not any more.

 

[MGoBlue]

Anyone familiar with that paper know if Will McCahil is still on staff?
Hope he didn't get the ax with the others who were cut.

 

[tball]

Anyone familiar with that paper know if Will McCahill is still on staff?
Hope he didn't get the ax with the others who were cut.

Will's still here, thankfully. He's our ASE/Nights, in charge of the copy desk.

 

[lohengrin]

A few years ago, I was at a CSNE job fair and the Mercury-News was considered one of the gold standard papers there. The editor was the fellow with the goatee (if you worked there, you know who I mean) and people were approaching their table as if it was an altar or something. Now it sounds as if it's a mess there.

 

[miamiheraldchick]

Yes, I knew him through Knight Ridder. He did a lot of hiring of sports writers and news and sports copy editors and, for a while, features writers. I remember him telling me about a hiring a former sports writer as a movie critic who did really well.

 

[Frank_Ridgeway]

When my friend interviewed there, they told her that if she had "officially" two years of experience, they would give her credit for four years and thus bring her in at a higher salary.

That's not all that uncommon at Guild papers. A long time ago a Guild paper hired me at the four-year level (top scale at six years) and kicked me to five years after a few months and then to top scale I think about six months after that. So my salary increased 30 percent, and when you consider what I was making at the previous job, my salary doubled within about nine months. (I was 25 and didn't know it wasn't always going to be like that.) They can always give you more, they just can't give you less.

 

[Ghost of Biff Pocoroba]

And to think Tony Ridder said McClatchy would take good care of the Merc... good guy, that Tony.

 

[Gold]

The presence of a union has never prevented management from giving an employee more money.

 

[Jumpin Jack Flash]

Anyone heard anything? Are they still looking, or have they zeroed in on someone?