Sports Reporter, The Minot Daily News (N.D.)

Good luck in your search. Minot is a nice place if you can get over the cold.

 

Going back to the subject about covering and shooting the same game, it's not all that bad. I'm not a very good photog but it isn't too hard to get one usable shot if you take a ton of them. Like flexmaster said, the best strategy is to get your shot early on so you can get it out of the way and focus on the rest of the game.

I don't have to do it very often, but when you do see your byline next to the photo you shot, you feel like a boss.

 

We had hoped to hire this one quickly and sat down to look at resumes. However, the sports editor does not feel we have an ample amount of applicants.
I have been told that we will be waiting until we get more to choose from.
I apologize for any confusion. I'll keep you updated.

 

Does North Dakota scare people off? The pay can't because I've known of several low-paying openings in warmer climates that get a lot of interest.

I'm guessing the pay is worse than what you'd get in Dickinson from what I know of Ogden. At Ogden's smaller papers, you're lucky to get $23K.

For the sports scene, it's a lot better than a lot of small dailies with Minot State moving to Division II and preps. Too bad there isn't a CBA team anymore.

 

There has been some good discussion about this ... sorry to threadjack, peacer!

As a relative "old fart" who used to have shoot with film, let me say that digital cameras have made this "problem" of shooting and writing much easier. You can know what you have photo-wise early in the game and don't have to resort to celebration shots or my old, cliched coach-talking-with-QB pic as backups in case none of the actions shots come out.

I guess the idea that a lot of smaller and mid-sized papers believe photographers are the first section of bone to cut away budgetwise is what really bothers me.

 

As someone who was recently applying I would say yes. When this last came up I thought about researching the place, but after talking to friends from Minnesota about Minot, I cooled on the idea and didn't pursue it. Granted that listing did not mention the 19,000 circulation or four-person desk, which would have drawn my resume at that point.

 

I am from the Midwest and know of Minot, and I don't know if the location is turning people off, but that's a lame excuse sometimes. I would apply but I just got a job at the beginning of the year.

 

Unless you live in the Cities, St. Cloud, Duluth or Rochester, Minnesota isn't much different than Minot. It's not like Crookston, Moorhead, Albert Lea or Brainerd is the Big Apple compared to the Tragic Magic City. It's cold in the winter, hot in the summer, and there's skeeters.

Minot's probably a little colder, and there aren't as many lakes nearby as in most of Minnesota, but Rice Lake works and Sakakawea has all the water you'll ever need. This would be an excellent job for someone relatively new to the business; it certainly was for me, many moons ago.

 

Even though I've had disagreements with peacer on this board, he knows his stuff and getting along with him shouldn't be a problem.

For a first job out of college, you'll learn a lot. Same goes with the Dickinson job.

 

Thanks for the kind words Stitch.

The sports editor has told me he will be contacting a few people next week, but we're still taking resumes. Our staff is about as easy going as you'll find anywhere, so you'd have to be pretty awkward to not fit in here.

A couple of other things:

-- I have been told the person who is hired will have a good shot of getting the Minot State University beat, an NAIA school in its second year of transition to NCAA D2. Minot State has been accepted into the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference as well. You would be the main beat writer, though I won't make any guarantees as nothing is set in stone until we get someone on board. The current writers, including myself, are very comfortable in their current beats.

-- Also, this isn't something that's often noted on here, but it could mean the difference between applying and not applying, so I'll say it anyways. The SE is from Minot as is another writer. My family is roughly an hour away. For the person who takes the job, going home for vacations or holidays really won't be a problem. With all of us celebrating Christmas real close to home, it's usually not a big deal for one of us to come in and handle duties. That isn't to say you won't ever work a holiday, but for the most part, if you live out of state or a longer distance in state, you should be able to go home for most holidays with ample traveling/holiday time.

Just throwing that out there. Not sure if it means anything to anyone.

 

It makes sense to apply for the Dickinson job as well. The duties are different, but with two sports openings in the state, it doesn't hurt to try for both. Either way, you'll be able to do quality sports reporting and not have to worry about getting the JV game covered.

Heck, in Dickinson, you just have one swim meet to cover in a year.

 

If I hadn't just taken the Williston job at the end of November I would apply. I am not from North Dakota (Indiana) and will say if you have no job and are not applying because it is ND then you're probably not going to make in this business. If you already have a job that is one thing but if you are jobless and being picky you're being stupid. Jobs in this industry are few and far between and you can't be picky. Get your start no matter where it is. You have to be willing to do anything to make it in this industry. Did I want to go to NW North Dakota? No, but I did for the job and to get my start in the business. Minot is one of the "big" towns around here. People in Williston drive two hours just to do shopping in Minot because they actually have stores. Plus covering college, even smaller schools, is much easier than high school. You have people take your stats, the arena's are bigger and better, and normally there is a PR guy to help you schedule interviews and the such. Plus, and perhaps most important, the coaches and players are used to the media and tend to talk better.