Sports Editor, The Robesonian

[rossyb]

There is a ton of turnover at that paper, not just in sports but all around...Look, this is the way I feel....People who feel the need to go around saying they are good guys and easy to work for usually aren't....From FIRST HAND experience Douglas made my life a living hell, made it miserable....I can tell you some pretty weird stories about the guy and his involvement with some staff members but won't....Buyer beware....Unemployment is better than going there.

 

[Tarheel316]

SCEditor is right about Heartland.

 

[rossyb]

When I was there it was CNHI....The thing is that paper serves a valuable purpose in that area...It's a first read for a lot of people over the Fayetteville Observer Times....It could be great without DD

 

[flexmaster33]

Donnie, 25 people in 13 years seems like high turnover to me.

no doubt...that seems to confirm all the red-flag notices about this paper and the people in charge there.

 

[rossyb]

Not so much PEOPLE in charge....PERSON in charge....The guy is a mess....

 

[donnie]

Tarheel316.

I actually went back and counted, there have been 19 sports guys in 13 years, that is three positions, so when you do the math, the average stay is a little over 2 years. (That includes the current crop of three, who have a total of about 6 months between them, which obviously hurts the average.) The last three people who left did this: ONe went back to school, another went to work as an assistant SID, and the third returned to his hometown of Chicago.


There was essentially NO turnover in the newsroom from 2002 through 2007;there has always been more turnover in sports b/c people for the most part have gone onto better jobs. I could supply anyone who called plenty of names.

. I have the happiest newsroom right now that I have ever have, w/o a doubt. This is a good gig for the right person, but it definitely isn't for everybody.

I would just hate for someone to miss an opportunity b/c they read this board. I actually have had two calls from people who learned of the job here. One is a likely hire.

 

[golfnut8924]

Rossyb,

I gotta hand it to you. You obviously must not give a damn about ever using this place or Mr. Douglas as a reference. He obviously knows who you are --- it would only take one glance at your posts for him to figure that out.

If you don't need that reference and feel okay burning that bridge then all the more to you. No matter how much I disliked a former boss I would never bad mouth them on here and disclose the info that you did about your identity when I know that person is reading all this.

You never know where contacts may lead you. Whether you liked them or not, they can lead to better opportunities in the future. Just my two cents. Not knocking on you for doing it and again, I admire your guts.

 

[rossyb]

I have been out of the newspaper business for years...Moved into PR and Communications...Have actually had the same job for the past 5 years so I am all set....Donnie D. was awful to me, absolutely awful...He actually called the job I had after his to badmouth me (to no avail)...Trust me, there is no love loss there, none....

On another note, in my opinion, the newspaper business is a dying business anyway...Not sure why anyone would want to get in it...Especially at that paper and with that boss...

It is an absolute DISASTER!

 

[Tarheel316]

Rossy, a lot of us still like being in this business and don't need you to put down what we do.

 

[sportsguydave]

Rossy, a lot of us still like being in this business and don't need you to put down what we do.

Amen. It's difficult to like this job some days ... but I still love it. It's not just what I do .. it's who I am.

 

[NightHawk112005]

I would just hate for someone to miss an opportunity b/c they read this board. I actually have had two calls from people who learned of the job here. One is a likely hire.

Donnie, with all due respect, if someone's going to decide not to apply just because of what they read on this board, he or she probably wouldn't have been a good fit for the job anyway. It's foolish to take anything said on this board about a job without a grain of salt. Each experience is different for each person.

My advice to anyone looking for jobs is to ignore the positive and negative posts here, and just apply if you think you can see yourself in that job and that city. Then you can make a decision after interviewing and forming your own impressions about the guy you'd be working for. To make a decision about a guy you have never spoken to is just idiotic.

 

[donnie]

Nighthawk,
I do agree. I have had some calls from people who read this and basically they said the same thing. But read the second post; I almost e-mailed the guy, but figured if he didn't have enough interest to get the other side of a story, then maybe I don't need someone like that doing reporting for this newspaper.
Your point is a good one.
I actually had a long conversation with a guy who has posted on this thread and I think he understands more fully the situation.

 

[Drip]

Rossy, a lot of us still like being in this business and don't need you to put down what we do.

Amen. It's difficult to like this job some days ... but I still love it. It's not just what I do .. it's who I am.

I agree with everyone looking for a job. Check it our for yourself and then decide. Sportsguydave, never let a job define who you are. It's what you do. It's how you earn a living. I'm sure there are other things in your life that are more important than chasing down a score on deadline.

 

[sportsguydave]

Rossy, a lot of us still like being in this business and don't need you to put down what we do.

Amen. It's difficult to like this job some days ... but I still love it. It's not just what I do .. it's who I am.

I agree with everyone looking for a job. Check it our for yourself and then decide. Sportsguydave, never let a job define who you are. It's what you do. It's how you earn a living. I'm sure there are other things in your life that are more important than chasing down a score on deadline.

Didn't mean for it to come out quite like that, Drip. I mainly meant that this job is a big part of who I am. Of course, I have other things going on in my life.

I've been doing it so long that I can't imagine doing anything else. I've been out of the business several times over the years, and something always brings me back.

I should probably go do something else and make some money. But I probably won't.

 

[Drip]

Rossy, a lot of us still like being in this business and don't need you to put down what we do.

Amen. It's difficult to like this job some days ... but I still love it. It's not just what I do .. it's who I am.

I agree with everyone looking for a job. Check it our for yourself and then decide. Sportsguydave, never let a job define who you are. It's what you do. It's how you earn a living. I'm sure there are other things in your life that are more important than chasing down a score on deadline.

Didn't mean for it to come out quite like that, Drip. I mainly meant that this job is a big part of who I am. Of course, I have other things going on in my life.

I've been doing it so long that I can't imagine doing anything else. I've been out of the business several times over the years, and something always brings me back.

I should probably go do something else and make some money. But I probably won't.

OK

 

[SanitizedSamolean]

If I had some ham, I could have some ham and eggs, if I had some eggs.

 

[1HPGrad]

General advice for jobseekers everywhere: Trust the scouting report.
My boys laid out a very detailed description of what life would be like at 1HP, and I dismissed it.
Ma Herald was all smiles during the recruiting, said all the right things. After I said yes, she ran all over my ass for the next four years. Just like my boys said she would.
This ain't 1HP, obviously, but the lesson is the same.
I shoulda trusted the scouting report.

 

[Big Circus]

Would anyone else agree that Donnie is a little out of his element here?

(OK, joking over, back to people posting productive things.)

 

[rossyb]

Trust the scouting report!!

 

[WriteThinking]

General advice for jobseekers everywhere: Trust the scouting report.
My boys laid out a very detailed description of what life would be like at 1HP, and I dismissed it.
Ma Herald was all smiles during the recruiting, said all the right things. After I said yes, she ran all over my ass for the next four years. Just like my boys said she would.
This ain't 1HP, obviously, but the lesson is the same.
I shoulda trusted the scouting report.

Exactly.

Things on here should be taken with a grain of salt and the knowledge that opinions and experiences vary, and hiring managers probably should do themselves a favor and not necessarily take everything personally.

That said, however, people on here do have professional connections, and, often, they do know things, and have experienced them. To believe that everything on here is pure hearsay, and that where there is smoke, there is never fire, just because people happen to use anonymous handles, would be a mistake.

Particularly on the jobs board, where posters usually are more careful about what they write, people often are trying to make genuine, serious contributions that should at least be taken into consideration.

The fact that they actually may be compelled to write something as important as information relating to a job, paper, area or something relating to any of that, on the basis of often-personal, real-life information that has the potential to be traced back to them, clearly shows that.