Sports writer -- Daily News-Record, Harrisonburg (Va.)

[Cosmo]

http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=1491791

The Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Va., is seeking a sports writer to begin work in June. Your duties would include both writing and desk work (such as pagination two or three nights a week), and you'd be expected to tweet, do podcasts and contribute to our websites. Your one specific beat would be Division III football and basketball, but you'd also be the No. 2 high school sports writer. We have five full-time staffers in Sports, and we prefer people who are news-oriented in their attitude. Harrisonburg is a college town (James Madison University is the biggest of three colleges in the immediate area) in the Shenandoah Valley about two hours from D.C. This is essentially an entry-level job, and you'd have an advantage if you did significant work at your college paper, had a good internship and live in the East. Send resumes and clips by email only ([email protected]). No phone calls, please.

*****

Good opening. Simmons has a hell of a reputation and the DNR does great work. Young ones, run to this one.

 

[MarkRSelig]

I currently work in the sports department here and would be happy to answer any questions from potential applicants. Feel free to PM me.

 

[Mystery Meat II]

Who left?

 

[MarkRSelig]

Paul Montana will be leaving in June to pursue another career.

 

[BWatson]

I'm sprinting Cosmo, haha.

 

[WriteThinking]

Good opening. Simmons has a hell of a reputation and the DNR does great work. Young ones, run to this one.

I would second this.

 

[35in44]

Can't say enough about this job. Chris is a fantastic editor and as has been mentioned before, if you do well under him, you usually end up somewhere good. Those who have worked for him in the past 10-15 years, some have landed at Sports Illustrated, ESPN.com, Newark Star-Ledger, The National (Abu Dhabi), Richmond Times-Dispatch, Roanoke Times and the Bloomington Herald-Times, among other places. In other words, if you want to be in this profession you are much better off working for Chris Simmons than not.

 

[pmontana12]

I am the one leaving this job to pursue another career, as previously stated. All of the positive things that have been said here so far are true. Chris is a FANTASTIC editor, and his reputation for making young writers better is deserved. There are also some very cool, talented people in the department who have made me feel welcome. My leaving has nothing to do with any dissatisfaction with this job - just the industry as a whole.

This paper is also doing well by current standards. How many sub-30,000 circulation papers do you know that have a five-man sports staff?

If you have questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[Duton]

35in44,
Thanks for including the Bloomington Herald-Times in there as a selling point. One of those things is not like the others in that sequence, but we (and I) will take it. Thanks.
Anyway, will step in here and send the same words of advice as per usual. I spent five years working for Chris and I can't imagine there's anyone at a small paper better at developing writers. If you're wondering if you should apply for this, you definitely should. Feel free to PM me, but only if you're interested in the opinions of someone who hasn't worked there since 2009.
And hey, Paul, congrats on the move, man. Hope Harrisonburg treated you well.

 

[pmontana12]

Thanks, Duton. It certainly has.

 

[Batman]

Have never worked at the Daily News-Record, but did "interview" there once. I use quotes because I had absolutely no chance in hell of getting the job. I had just graduated and applied for a job there a few weeks earlier. Since Harrisonburg was on the way back to my hometown I called and asked if I could pop in for an interview.
Amazingly, Chris Simmons did not give me the brush off. He told me to come on in, talked to me for probably 30 minutes and even answered a follow-up e-mail with some constructive criticism. I didn't work a day for the man, had no connection to him or the town (not even a tangential one) and he didn't know me from Adam, but he still took the time to help. Just going through that courtesy interview helped me a lot.
I'm sure he wouldn't remember it -- it was a random weekday afternoon 15 years ago -- but it speaks volumes about the man that he'd do that for a total stranger. I can't imagine what he'd do if you actually worked for him.

As others have said, if you have the inclination to apply here -- DO IT NOW!!!
Chris and his paper have an outstanding reputation in the business for a reason.

 

[UNCGrad]

Have never worked at the Daily News-Record, but did "interview" there once. I use quotes because I had absolutely no chance in hell of getting the job. I had just graduated and applied for a job there a few weeks earlier. Since Harrisonburg was on the way back to my hometown I called and asked if I could pop in for an interview.
Amazingly, Chris Simmons did not give me the brush off. He told me to come on in, talked to me for probably 30 minutes and even answered a follow-up e-mail with some constructive criticism. I didn't work a day for the man, had no connection to him or the town (not even a tangential one) and he didn't know me from Adam, but he still took the time to help. Just going through that courtesy interview helped me a lot.
I'm sure he wouldn't remember it -- it was a random weekday afternoon 15 years ago -- but it speaks volumes about the man that he'd do that for a total stranger. I can't imagine what he'd do if you actually worked for him.

As others have said, if you have the inclination to apply here -- DO IT NOW!!!
Chris and his paper have an outstanding reputation in the business for a reason.

Chris did the same for me the semester I was finishing college 15 years ago. I had no shot - no shot - yet I had applied anyway. Looking back, it was amazing he gave me the time of day. I don't remember much from the interview itself, only that I know I learned from that afternoon how to interview better in the future, if that makes any sense. A few weeks later I got my first offer and had a job less than a month out of school. The Harrisonburg interview helped for sure.

Interesting to hear the same happened for someone else.

 

[GidalKaiser]

If nothing else, Chris comes across as very nice and helpful even in a form rejection letter.

 

[Mark2010]

That DOES count for something. Just like an applicant wants to make a good impression, it's never a bad idea for a hiring manager to do the same. The person who comes in second (or 99th) this time might be someone you come back to somewhere down the road.

 

[Cosmo]

Matt Jones, a recent Virginia Tech grad, is the hire here, per him announcing it on Twitter. He'll do well there.