R.I. weekly job opening up

Hey everyone,
I'm a regular poster, but in order to keep some semblance of anonymity, I'm posting under a different username for this one.

Anyway, I was just informed by my full-time staff writer that he will be leaving our paper the first week of May, meaning of course that there will be a job opening up.

We are an award-winning weekly sports section in southern Rhode Island that obviously focuses mostly on preps, though we do cover the University of Rhode Island, a Division I school (I-AA for football), as well.

This is pretty much an entry-level position, perfect for a college senior who will be graduating or for a recent college grad with a degree in journalism or a related. This is not, however, a position for someone who has never written for a newspaper in some form or fashion before (I say this to avoid the spate of resumes from sports fans who got "B's" in high school english).

We pride ourselves on our reporting and writing here and that means warts-and-all coverage of the local sports scene. We do our fair share of feelgood features, but we also tackle the issues facing local sports teams, even it means upsetting some of our readers (I feel we stand out in this regard among much of our competition).

There is some layout work required, so familiarity with Quark XPress is a big plus, though it is by no means mandatory. Good writing and reporting come first. Oh, and you won't have to shoot your own photos.

Pay is in the low- to mid-20K range and includes benefits and a 401K.

You will work directly with me, the sports editor, but we also have two photographers and several stringers who contribute to the section.

We are hoping to have the position filled by May 1 so that the new reporter can get his or her feet wet before the playoff season begins.

If you need more info, shoot me an email at brianp@neindependent.com (I probably won't check this username often for PMs). No phone calls please.

To apply, send a resume, cover letter and clips to:
South County Newspapers
C/O Sports Editor Brian Pernicone
10 High St.
Wakefield, RI
02879

I will send an email to confirm I received your package, but will likely only reply to those with whom I'd like to set up an interview.

EDIT: While I probably won't check this username very often, I'll check this posting, so if you have any questions that others might want the answers to, leave them here and I'll do my best to answer them.

 

This is right across the street from Italian Village, the best Italian restaurant I've ever been to.

Make sure you have the chicken escarole soup. You'll thank me.

 

MAJOR selling point: Paper no longer is owned by JRC!

 

An even bigger selling point: We never were owned by JRC. We are part of the family-owned Sherman Publishing Co. Our main competition, Southern Rhode Island Newspapers, was formerly owned by JRC, though it was sold recently.

Also, we used to be right next door to the Italian Village, but our office has moved. We are now across the street from a bar called The Mew's, which keeps 69 microbrews on tap at all times.

Lastly, a few people have asked if they can send clips via email. That's one spot where I prefer to keep it old school and request that all clips be sent as hard copy through snail mail. It's just too easy to clean up your work after the fact with electronic versions. Thanks.

 

Yes, an even bigger selling point! Mea culpa for lumping you in with that mess.

 

URI is I-AA for football.

 

Whoops. Very true, KP. Forgot an 'A' on there. Fixed it. It's D-I for all varsity sports except football (hockey is still a club sport).

 

Hockey is a club sport, but URI (at least a couple years ago) had one of the top men's and women's club hockey programs.

 

Oh man, I love the Mews. What a great place.

 

A quick update ...
I've received quite a few resume and clips packages already and I'm still accepting more for those who haven't sent them in yet. I'd like to begin interviewing around April 18, so if you still haven't sent in a package, get on it ASAP.

Also, I've had a few applicants mention that they aren't graduating until late May. I'd encourage anyone who is graduating to still send in their resume and clips. While I'd prefer to hire without an interruption from when the current reporter leaves, I'll wait it out for the right candidate . I'd rather struggle through a couple weeks and hire the right person than hire the wrong person and save myself a little work.

 

I just wanted to thank everyone who sent in their clips packages for our open position. I have set up interviews with four candidates who beat out a strong field.

I apologize to those who sent clips but have not heard back from me, but due to the number of resumes I received, I don't have time to respond to each one individually. Rest assured there were a few who only narrowly missed the cut.

This is the second hire I've had to make in less than a year, and this round of candidates was 10 times stronger than the last. My last hire was an excellent one, but he was one of only a few good candidates, largely because I didn't post the position on here. I won't make that mistake again.

Thanks again everyone, and to those who didn't get the job, good luck.