Sports Reporter - Pine Bluff, Ark.

[Runnin Rebel]

From Journalism Jobs

Description:
The Pine Bluff Commercial, an award-winning daily newspaper in Southeast Arkansas owned by Stephens Media, Inc., is seeking a reporter to cover sports in the area. Candidates should possess strong writing skills, have a broad knowledge of sports, have associated computer skills and be able to meet deadlines. Knowledge of Adobe InDesign is not required but is a plus. The Commercial is transitioning to Web-first publishing, so experience writing for Web sites is also a plus. Coverage is primarily of the 14 area high schools and the two area colleges, an NCAA Division I and Division II school. The position offers competitive wages, insurance for health, dental, visual and prescription drug and mileage and expense reimbursement. Interested applicants should contact Sean Saunders, sports editor, by e-mail at [email protected], by fax at 870-534-0113 or by mail at Sean Saunders, Pine Bluff Commercial, 300 Beech Street, Pine Bluff, AR 71601. All applicants should include resume, writing samples and references.

Looks like a decent gig, if you could ever get up to Little Rock. I'm a little weary because of the "Web first" transition the paper is going to be making, especially after one look at its Web site. That and I couldn't find what the circulation for this paper is. Other than that, it's work.

 

[littlehurt98]

Pine Bluff isn't the greatest area to be living in, but there are plenty of options a few miles outside of town that could suite anyone's needs. White Hall would be the place to live most likely if one was to apply. It is only about a 10 minute drive outside the city.

Pine Bluff has a reputation of being a very poor town and does have some crime. As for the paper, I have known people who have worked and have said they have always enjoyed the people and the staff. I believe it has been the city, rather than the paper, that has caused the ones I know to leave.

 

[Gary L]

Just sent an application. Hopefully I'll hear something.

 

[Runnin Rebel]

@littlehurt Do you know what people have said the circ is in the neighborhood of? It wasn't available on any of the auditing sites.

 

[fishhack2009]

Circ is 18,648 per mondonewspapers.com.

http://www.mondonewspapers.com/usa/arkansas.html

 

[littlehurt98]

That sounds about right. I think Pine Bluff is something like the 5th or 6th largest city in Arkansas. I want to say the population is around 60,000, but I know that number has dropped off in recent years. It maybe closer to 50,000 now.

Little Rock isn't too far away, but it is still a good hour drive up the interstate. Pine Bluff always produces some talent in football and basketball. Watson Chapel high school played in the 6A state football game this past year and both the boys' and girls' basketball teams are ranked among the top-3 in the state.

Pine Bluff high school also played in a football state title game I believe. You will certainly be watching a lot of talent. I think Tori Hunter went to Pine Bluff high school. I know he is from that area.

Like I said, I have always heard good things about the paper. I just know the city has a lot of money issues and deals with a lot of crime and poverty. A few years ago I seem to remember it making a Forbes list for most crime stricken cities.

 

[partain]

I got my start at the Commercial. I was a high-school senior and I think I was one of three high school kids they had out actually covering games two or three nights a week. Of course, that was 18 years ago, so the staff has changed.

But yes, you'll see plenty of talent go through there. The teams they cover are usually very competitive in every sport, from track to football.

Pine Bluff as a city has always had its issues with unemployment, crime, etc. But I never had any problems there, including the couple of years I spent sacking groceries at an area Safeway.

 

[littlehurt98]

Good to know Partain. I live in Northeast Arkansas, but I have had a few friends work at the Commercial. I was just going off what they had told me.

 

[bwright]

From the Web site:
<quote> Dear Readers:

In February, The Commercial will unveil a comprehensive redesign of our website, which will include some great benefits for our readers. The new pbcommercial.com has been either in design or under construction since September. It will offer more news, more sports and more information about the people, events and issues of Jefferson County and Southeast Arkansas. We’ll have more on what you and your neighbors are talking about.

It’s not like any newspaper website I’ve seen, and I look at many every day. The content will be deeper, and the updates more frequent. There will be no waiting on important news and events.

Daily subscribers to the print version of The Commercial will enjoy the benefits of the redesigned website at no additional charge. Web-only subscriptions can be purchased for $12.95 per month. We’ve never charged for our online content, so that’s a big change for us, and, of course, for you. It’s a reflection of the changing times of the news businesses. We cannot count on advertisers to subsidize the cost of the news content at the same levels they have in the past. We’re asking online readers to partner with us in helping to provide news, information and opinion on Southeast Arkansas - just as the readers of our print product have done for more than a century.

pbcommercial.com will be unlike any online news site in Arkansas and will include:

Easy access to special reports and archived data about important issues in our area

Podcasts of important local events

Blogs by staff writers and readers

New tools to make it easier for you to submit community news and information

Detailed profiles on elected officials

Photo galleries of local people and local events
</quote>

Kudos to the paper for trying something different instead of simply cutting everything.

 

[Runnin Rebel]

Daily subscribers to the print version of The Commercial will enjoy the benefits of the redesigned website at no additional charge. Web-only subscriptions can be purchased for $12.95 per month.

Looks like someone's about to captain the titanic...

 

[dracula]

I covered a 1AA football game in Pine Bluff for my college newspaper a couple years ago. Rough town.

 

[Liut]

Didn't realize Sean had ascended to SE. Ran into him during Gulf South Conference travels. Thought he did a solid job covering Arkansas-Monticello. Pretty intense dude, but once you get to know him, he's an OK cat.

I've been told there's a Martha Mitchell Museum in Pine Bluff, in case you're a Watergate buff.

 

[Slash]

Good stuff to cover, paper is decent, town has its troubles but the people you work with on your beats are some of the better ones you'll encounter in life. Plus, there is a long list of successful writers/editors that are PBC alums.
PM for more.

 

[cjericho]

Daily subscribers to the print version of The Commercial will enjoy the benefits of the redesigned website at no additional charge. Web-only subscriptions can be purchased for $12.95 per month.

Looks like someone's about to captain the titanic...

Damn. Most porn sites don't even have the balls to charge that much anymore.

 

[Football_Bat]

The politics in Pine Bluff about a decade ago were ... entertaining, I'll say that much.

The communities that coexist there get along as great as any city that's split almost 50-50. But when it comes to school and city matters, they butt heads on a regular basis. Don't know what that means sports-wise in PB other than the existence of an HBCU there; just an observation.

They didn't call it White Hall for nothing.