Sports Writer Texarkana, TX

[BrianMcDowell]

From Journalismjobs.....

Company: Texarkana Gazette
Position: Seeking Sports Writer
Location: Texarkana, Texas
Job Status: Full-time
Salary: $20,000 to $25,000
Ad Expires: April 15, 2010
Job ID: 1094404
Website: http://www.texarkanagazette.com

Description:
The Texarkana Gazette, a 30,000 circulation daily covering portions of Texas and Arkansas, is looking for enterprising and hard working sports writer. Primary responsibilities are covering local high school sports, although some college and pro coverage is possible. Most work is in the field, although office work is rotated through the sports staff. Schedule is irregular. Evening and weekend work is required. This is a writing position with no page make-up involved. Applicant must have a vehicle, certificate of insurance and a good driving record. A border city on the state line of Arkansas and Texas, the Gazette offers applicants unique opportunities in sports coverage, including sports features, advances, statistical profiles, non-traditional sports, and game coverage of sectional rivalries. Position is currently open, but we will consider a May graduate. Regional candidates encouraged. Send cover letter, resume and clips to Texarkana Gazette ATTN: Anna Johnson, P.O. Box 621, Texarkana, TX, 75504, or e-mail [email protected]. Please prepare on-line documents as .pdf files.

 

[Methodtomymadness]

Any idea of who the paper there is replacing?

 

[UNCGrad]

$20-25K for a 30K circ? Ouch.

 

[WriteThinking]

$20-25K for a 30K circ? Ouch.

That's pretty much the going rate of pay in the industry right now. If a job offered $30-35K, there would be thousands of applicants jumping all over it, as opposed to the hundreds that most attract.

 

[fishhack2009]

$20-25K for a 30K circ? Ouch.

That's pretty much the going rate of pay in the industry right now. If a job offered $30-35K, there would be thousands of applicants jumping all over it, as opposed to the hundreds that most attract.

I am guessing the cost of living in East Texas could be pretty low. Still... this is still peanuts for a paper that size.

 

[flexmaster33]

Do they at least shell the peanuts before they put them in your pay envelope?

 

[StaggerLee]

$20-25K for a 30K circ? Ouch.

I know that's the going rate, but that's just ****ing downright offensive.

If the Texarkana Cheap Ass Gazette is like most newspaper, said sportswriter will likely work 55-60 hours a week, meaning his/her measly pay would be roughly $9.50 an hour. That's before taxes. Chances are, the person that gets this **** of a gig will have to find part-time work to afford a decent place to stay and enjoy any semblance of a social life.

Damn, if I could go back in time to when I chose my career path, I'd kick my 19-year old self squarely in the testicles. Then I'd punch myself in the esophagus.

 

[Mark2010]

It's never too late to do that, you know. I mean the kick yourself in the testicles part.

Northeast Texas and Arkansas aren't nearly expensive as some other places.

My first job out of college I made $250 a week. Of course, that was more than 20 years ago, gas was less than a dollar a gallon and I had a REALLY nice apartment for less than $300 per month. Ah, the good ole days.

Seriously, though, check out what some other industries are paying hourly workers and it's on par.

 

[Matthew K]

I left this job back in September after being there for two years and minus a two week period the job has been open since. They hired a recent graduate from WVU and he lasted two weeks before quitting. Before I was there the guy that had the position was on the job for 30+ years.

I don't have a lot of positive things to say about the job or the town. This was my first job out of college and I put in my time for two years before moving on, but I was hoping to learn from an experience staff but they had no interest in teaching. As for the cost of living it isn't too bad but after taxes you are making just below $20,000. An OK apartment in town costs from $465-$600 and there is absolutely nothing to do in town.

You would be the fourth person on the staff. The sports director has been planning to retire since 2006 and is allegedly retiring in December. It's a very disgruntled newsroom because of the low pay, wage freezes, long hours with no overtime and poor working conditions. Lots of cockroaches and rats crawling around, leaking ceiling and it's not uncommon for a stray bat to being fly around.

The job is covering Texarkana, Arkansas High School (locally they just call it Arkansas High). The coaches are really easy to work with. The problem is that it's a Texas newspaper and coverage is heavily tilted towards the Texas high schools, which often comes at the expense of Arkansas and the coaches and parents don't hesitate to complain to you every chance they get.

Don't let the job ad fool, there is zero pro coverage as they are no longer credentialed for the Cowboys and even the rare time they cover the University of Arkansas the assistant sports editor takes those assignments. There is some junior college baseball and softball coverage in the spring and in the summer it's a lot of Little League in 100+ degree heat.

PM if you want more information.

 

[candre]

Someone please explain why we (Sports Journalists) go to college if the most we can look to make is 20-25k. You graduate and end up working for people who never graduated college or studied something extremely opposite.

And 20k will pay for a low budget apartment and a 1992 nissan sentra. What a way to reward college grads,America.

 

[StaggerLee]

It's never too late to do that, you know. I mean the kick yourself in the testicles part.

Northeast Texas and Arkansas aren't nearly expensive as some other places.

My first job out of college I made $250 a week. Of course, that was more than 20 years ago, gas was less than a dollar a gallon and I had a REALLY nice apartment for less than $300 per month. Ah, the good ole days.

Seriously, though, check out what some other industries are paying hourly workers and it's on par.

I get that Mark. I understand there are a lot of underpaid, hourly workers in this country.

But how many of those have college degrees? I'd like for someone to find another profession that pays college graduates as poorly as this one does. There might be one, but I've yet to find it.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

Do they at least shell the peanuts before they put them in your pay envelope?

Nah, they leave the shells in there. They consider it a bonus.

 

[chase.colston]

Not a big fan of Texarkana, and sorry to hear that Johnny Green (Sports Editor) is retiring soon. He's good people.

 

[5RunHomer]

Someone please explain why we (Sports Journalists) go to college if the most we can look to make is 20-25k. You graduate and end up working for people who never graduated college or studied something extremely opposite.

And 20k will pay for a low budget apartment and a 1992 nissan sentra. What a way to reward college grads,America.

Were you honestly unaware of the condition of our industry when you decided to join this field of lunatics? I graduated less than a year ago from an SEC school and while the low wages are pitiful, I knew it was an utter waste of time to complain about it. You don't go through presumably four years of schooling, requiring buckets of cash, if you don't know what you're getting in to. In the words of 99 percent of athletes to ever step up to a podium in post game: "It is, what is it."

 

[flexmaster33]

The pay was bad 10 years ago, but it's reaching new levels of pathetic. I got an offer from a Texas paper about this same size, about the same rate. The publisher was up front and very nice during the phone interview, and told me frankly that the previous SE had to work a side job to make ends meet.

It is too bad that this industry has become a hobby, instead of a profession. It's getting hard to turn my eyes away from PR jobs that pay twice as much with a routine work week.

 

[Football_Bat]

Texarkana used to be an old folks' home in sports and may still be. The only place where they had a sports editor and a sports director in the print biz. I once thought that was a negative, but not as much these days.

I used to run into Louie Avery at Cowboys games and generally at anything their teams were involved in in the Metroplex. Hope he's doing well.

 

[Mark2010]

It's never too late to do that, you know. I mean the kick yourself in the testicles part.

Northeast Texas and Arkansas aren't nearly expensive as some other places.

My first job out of college I made $250 a week. Of course, that was more than 20 years ago, gas was less than a dollar a gallon and I had a REALLY nice apartment for less than $300 per month. Ah, the good ole days.

Seriously, though, check out what some other industries are paying hourly workers and it's on par.

I get that Mark. I understand there are a lot of underpaid, hourly workers in this country.

But how many of those have college degrees? I'd like for someone to find another profession that pays college graduates as poorly as this one does. There might be one, but I've yet to find it.

Yeah, I thought about that. Times have changed a lot since I was in university 20-something years ago. But, it is what it is and no one is forced to go into or stay in the field. If money is what one craves, they have every right to go do something else.

We've had tons of discussions on these boards with young people getting into the business. As long as they understand the pros and cons of it, it's their life and their choice.

I honestly felt that I would pay my dues for a few years and move on to bigger and better beats and places. But, hey, I know colleagues older than I doing the same sort of grunt work. Sometimes that happens, sometimes it doesn't.

 

[WriteThinking]

It is too bad that this industry has become a hobby, instead of a profession. It's getting hard to turn my eyes away from PR jobs that pay twice as much with a routine work week.

More and more, this is becoming the truth of the matter.

I've finally begun looking in earnest at other job possibilities, and I'm realizing more than ever that there are very few professions that are paying worse than journalism.

Most pay more, and even things that pay only the same are usually jobs that nonetheless include more regular hours, less travel, way less stress, and no heartache. In short, they appear to be easier jobs for either the same or more money.

Despite my love and passion for this industry and my desire to continue in it -- mostly because I believe that I have much to offer and that I'd still like to contribute and accomplish -- these other options are becoming more and more appealing.

 

[Craig Sagers Tailor]

It is too bad that this industry has become a hobby, instead of a profession. It's getting hard to turn my eyes away from PR jobs that pay twice as much with a routine work week.

such as?

 

[2underpar]

I wasn't aware that PR jobs were so plentiful. I wasn't aware there were many jobs out there period.
I also wasn't aware the newspaper industry ever paid well.
Guess i'm behind the times.