Sportswriter, Index-Journal (Greenwood, S.C.)

The Index-Journal, a 15,000-circulation daily in Greenwood, S.C., is looking for a talented, energetic sports journalist to join its award-winning team.
We're looking for somebody who understands local sports matter and can convey that through stories and photos in our sports section. Our publication covers 10 high schools, two Division II colleges and various other sporting events in our four-county coverage area. The journalist hired will also have to occasionally shoot photos and design pages. Essentially, we're looking for a multi-faceted journalist, one who can write, report, shoot photos, copy edit and design pages.
The Index-Journal is a family-owned daily newspaper in a beautiful section of South Carolina. Yes, we're a small daily newspaper, but we want to think big. We want to challenge the regular parameters attached to small papers and eschew the new way of thinking — smaller staff, less local copy, lower quality. We firmly believe the best way for a newspaper to succeed in this economic climate is to put out the best product possible. Period.
We want somebody who puts pride in his/her work and has a passion for journalism. Want to mail it in? Skip this ad. Disenchanted by journalism’s “gloomy outlook”? Apply elsewhere. Want to work with an aggressive, talented and passionate journalism staff – we’re the place for you.
This is the ideal job for somebody fresh out of college or a talented journalist looking to make the move up from a weekly, but a proven veteran looking to relocate to a charming Southern town is also welcome to apply.
If interested, send a résumé, clips (writing and page design, preferred) and references (via regular mail or e-mail) to:
Scott J. Bryan
Associate Editor
P.O. Box 1018
Greenwood, SC 29648
sbryan@indexjournal.com.
No phone calls, please.

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1.) Matt Anderson, who worked here for almost four years, is returning home to his native land – New Jersey. Matt is an exceptional journalist, a better person and a dear friend. He’ll be truly missed.
2.) Location: Greenwood is about an hour from Greenville, a little over an hour from Augusta and about an hour and a half from Columbia.
3.) The town: It's a reasonably-sized Southern town. We've got restaurants, a movie theater, a bowling alley, golf courses and more than enough bars and churches.
4.) The staff: We have two full-time sports writers and a sports editor. The sports writers handle the bulk of the writing and desk work is limited (we have a universal desk that handles the bulk of the sports design).
5.) The schedule: Afternoons, nights and weekends, of course.
6.) Pay: About $23K-$25K. It depends on experience.
7.) Newspaper stability: Like any newspaper, we’ve had some cost-saving measures. We’ve reduced the size of our paper and folded the features section into the A section. The sports section, for the most part, has maintained its level of space – four to five pages during the week, seven-eight pages on Sunday. Occasionally, we’ll have a three-page sports section, but that’s generally on days where we don’t need as much space. We have not had any furloughs. We received Christmas bonuses in December. We had a Christmas party. Because we’re a family-owned publication, we don’t have the corporate hoops to jump through.
8.) Newsroom atmosphere: I love working here. I’ve been here almost four years, and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it. We have a talented staff, and we’re doing big things – the Index-Journal recently won first-place General Excellence in its circulation category in the South Carolina Press Association contest and a newspaper-record 14 awards. It’s a good place to work. Honest.
9.) Hiring process: We intend to take applications for the next two weeks and move quickly in hiring a sports writer.

If you have any more questions, feel free to PM me or send me an e-mail at sbryan@indexjournal.com. Please, please, please, no phone calls.

Thanks.

Scott J. Bryan
Associate Editor
(Greenwood, S.C.) Index-Journal

 

I can't offer any knowledge on the job or the area, but Scott was very courteous and professional when I applied at the Index-Journal a while back. He stayed in touch throughout the hiring process, including when the position was filled, and I really appreciated that after not hearing a word from a lot of other potential employers.

 

Scott Bryan: Still a good dude. 8)

 

Thank you for the kind words, Haneluca and JJHHI.

 

Tough to say enough good words about Scott. If only I were much younger and not in the midst of my current drama ...

 

I'm looking to move up from a weekly, and this one sounds ideal. Just applied.

 

Lots of good things about this job.

As the above have stated, Scott’s been phenomenal to work for over the past nearly-four years. Can’t say enough about how good he’s been, both as a sports editor and in his current associate editor role. As for Scott Chancey, the sports editor, you won’t find many harder-working folks out there. And through all levels of the I-J management, I can say that there’s a tremendous amount of support in many different ways.

As for covering the area, the coaches are phenomenal to deal with across the board. It’s a solid high school football area; this past season, two teams made it to state championships games, with one winning a state title. The rest of the high school sports are kind of hit-or-miss depending upon the season.

As Scott said, it’s a pretty typical small southern city (although granted, I have no strong basis for comparison for other small southern cities). There’s the standard fare of chain restaurants, and it even has a few very good small independent places.

More succinctly, it took a pretty large set of circumstances to get me to leave. It’s a job with a lot to offer.

 

Hello, this is Scott Chancey, sports editor of the Index-Journal. First of all, I will miss Matt. He's an incredibly talented writer, and even better guy, and I wish him the best. I have been fortunate to have talented writers work for me since I moved here last April. To illustrate how much credence is given to writers who have worked here, Adam Regan was my other writer when I first arrived, and he is now the prep sports editor in Anderson, S.C. Yes, the bar is set high here, as it should be since we won first place in general excellence in our circulation category in South Carolina. But that's only one reason why sports writers will enjoy working here. For one thing, the atmosphere is about FUN. Let's face it, folks. If you're not having fun, you're not going to give it your all.
And I promise you, you WILL have fun in our section.
Our other writer, Ben Breiner is as great a guy as you can find, and he is one of the best feature writers I've had the opportunity to read. And Scott J. Bryan, our associate editor, is the former sports editor here, and he always will go to bat for us.
And as for Scott J. Bryan as a person, you will be hard-pressed to find one better. As for the community, the fans are crazy about their sports, and want to buy those papers for the scrapbooks.
This is the best newsroom atmosphere I've ever worked in, and I am very fortunate to be here.
We look forward to having another writer join the "Sports Lounge."

 

Oh, I guess I should chime in here.

I'm the other sports writer at the paper with all of four months on the job. The town is not the biggest, but there are far worse places to work in this business. It has its pluses and the sports scene is pretty decent.

I guess if I could sum up the job I'd go back to the advice an accomplished newspaper veteran told me when I was still in school. He said, "Go to a place where you can do good work and tell good stories."

This is a place where a young journalist can do that.

 

I need to chime in about both the I-J and the folks there.
First the people are topnotch. I worked with Scott Chancey back when he was in Rome and he was a hard worker who would help you out anytime you asked.
Scott Bryan, I worked with in Aiken and he works hard, but he tries to have fun with what he is doing.
One good thing about both guys, they will work your tail off, but, you will never be asked to work harder than either of them, because they have both been through the ringer at other jobs and they know how bad that can make guys feel about their jobs. Also I am pretty sure both guys will let you take some chances and that is rare in newspapers now.
The Index-Journal was always a good paper when I worked nearby, and I know over the last few years the paper has gotten better.
If I was a little younger I would be applying for the job myself. Greenwood is not a metropolis, but it is a nice southern town, plenty to do there and plenty close enough if you want to go elsewhere.

 

Is it two weeks yet? The wait is killing me. I put my name in the hat and think I have a decent shot. I really want the job because from what everyone has said it is a place with great sports guys and it is less than an hour from where my parents now live. It would be nice to have a great job and be close to family.