Sports editor -- Fayetteville, N.C.

Hey everybody,

I'm the outgoing sports editor, and if anyone has any questions feel free to PM me and I'll be happy to answer them.

I just want to go on record saying that, in my opinion, this was a GREAT place to work. It's a family-owned paper, which means the ownership still very much cares about the product, and resources are still available to make it top notch. Not saying they don't pay attention to space, or that there are fewer people in the newsroom than there were a couple years ago, but even in those respects this paper has not been hit nearly as hard as other places. While it's true there have been no raises the past two years, it is also true that there have been no furloughs, and everyone received a profit-sharing check in February for about 3.5 percent of their salary. A nice bonus in this economy.

Also, the sports staff here is very good. It's a nice mix of veterans with a ton of institutional knowledge about the area and talented young writers who are working their butts of to get better.

Finally, the bosses here are very good. You might not always agree with the decisions they make, but they will value your input and will consider it before they decide. And if you do a good job they won't hassle you too much -- but they do pay attention and notice when you do something significant.

Fayetteville as a place to live is not great. No other way to put it. It's a military town and feels like it. The people are nice but don't expect the amenities of bigger cities, or even of other cities the same size.

But if you can handle that, I really believe this is one of the best news organizations of its size in the country. You'll have the flexibility here to do the kind of great stuff that will get you noticed.

Again, PM me with questions,

Todd M. Adams

 

What Todd said. I worked in Fayetteville for almost eight years -- before Todd got there -- and he hit everything right on the nail. Fayetteville isn't the greatest place to live, but there are some nicer places in the surrounding area. But the paper does a helluva job for its size and upper management does care. The family-owned atmosphere of the place, I believe, is a plus in this day and age.

 

It took more than two months, but our bosses have settled on Todd's replacement - Larry Graham, who's been in the business for more than a decade, including a stint as S.E. in Lima, Ohio.

And we've filled another vacancy on the staff by adding Bret Strelow - back in The Ville, where he was once an intern, after a long stint with the Salisbury Post. Bret started Monday, and Larry will get us back up to full strength in early January.

 

Bret will prove to be an excellent addition to that staff.

 

He already has