Staff writer, The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Calif.

We often talk about the frustrations of job seekers, but it can't be all that easy to sort through that many resumes when you have just job to offer, either.

 

Whoever gets this job is joining a good team. Crossed paths (at least on the phone) with some of the P-E crew during the state playoffs in March and was very impressed.

 

Anybody know if this job is still available?

Forgive my ignorance, I'm a newb. Glad I came across this website.

 

Unless you're one of the final three, it looks like you're too late.

 

Unless you're one of the final three, it looks like you're too late.
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Thanks, Lorax.

 

UPDATE: Staff writer, The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Calif.

Update: The position has been filled. Three terrific on-site interviews last week. Offer was made yesterday. Offer was accepted yesterday. I'm not inclined to reveal the hire here. If our new hire chooses to name himself here, that's fine. Starts May 23. Thanks to everyone. Entire process completed in about 28 days.

 

I feel like a cheesy radio caller, but ... long time reader, first time poster.

I'm not great at talking about myself, but the therapist Ron Artest recommended tells me I'm going to have to get better if I hope to make it in SoCal. And since Dave has handled this opening with the utmost honesty and clarity, I figured I should follow his lead.

My name is Will Holden, and I can virtually stand before you today and say that trading in my shoulder-length hair for the Pete Carroll special was well worth it. I'm honored to join Dave and his staff. I feel like they are real pros who take a visionary approach in a market that so desperately needs it.

Now on to the only reason most of you are still reading.

I'm leaving a great gig behind -- the Montana State football and men's basketball beats at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. It's one of what I believe to be two premier jobs in the state of Montana.

Before you crash my soon-to-be former boss' email with 87 resumes, you should know there is one good in-house candidate for a promotion, and I've pointed to one outsider who I think would also be a great hire. In all honesty, I would not be surprised if we filled this job without putting it on the market.

If it does go public, though, I would hope you give our antiquated email client all it can handle. These are a pair of traveling beats based in the phenomenal city of Bozeman. No, you won't be joining Ted Turner and his chums at the Yellowstone Club anytime soon. But you'll live just fine on what they pay you if you're a hungry up-and-comer.

I'd like to close with a message to a few curmudgeons who see it as their god-given burden to troll these boards. Maybe I'm just young and stupid, but having been to four layoff meetings in three full years in this business (and having been a victim in one) I think I've had plenty of opportunities to become jaded.

And I'm not.

I don't mean to be insensitive. Many of you have devoted your lives to this industry. You've paved the way for me and the next generation of sports journalists. You've got wives, kids and mortgage. And now you're being kicked to the curb with a cheap 3x5 plaque that says "Thank you" with your name on it -- like the one I received from a paper that shall not be named. I keep it near my desk for motivation.

To some degree, I get it. I also get the need to vent. But do really need to utilize the wonderful tool that is WordPress just so you can write one 80-inch opus telling Uncle McClatchy all the places he can stick it?

I'd just like you to know there is still a huge faction of young sports journalists out there. You're all still our heroes and would-be mentors. Whether you're in the trenches helping us redefine the future of this business or working as Barry Bonds' new personal trainer, we're going to lean on you all the same. There's a great former SE working public relations for a non-profit here in Bozeman who I go to for advice on a weekly basis. The one thing he's never told me? Get out of this business while you still can.

Maybe it's too much to ask to request that you repress your opinions or what you feel to be the truth. After all, that is a big reason we're all here. I guess all I'd ask is that you think about the sort of impact your well-written words might have on the future of sports journalism -- a big reason why, in my mind, this board exists -- before you tell me how ill-fated an adventure it will ultimately be to chase my dreams.

Because I'm never going to believe you. And I don't think I'm alone.

So thank you Dave, and thank you to all the veteran sports journalists who have steered me in the right direction. I'm still writing today because of you.

 

Will there be any coverage of the LA Kings with this gig?

 

Will's a terrific guy, good journalist and will do an excellent job. Trading Bozeman for SoCal? Well, to each his own, I suppose.

Seriously, Will, if you're reading, congratulations.

 

Wow, talk about hitting a grand slam on your first at-bat...

In all seriousness, Will, I'm one of those veterans you refer to (27 years and counting), and there is nothing else on this earth I'd rather be doing for a living.

Sure, it can be tough and stressful. In the past three years, I've managed to survive four furloughs and two separate layoffs and watched the workforce here shrink to a fraction of what it once was.

I do worry about our industry, but my philosophy is that I'm too busy doing my job to bitch about how bad things are. As long as the doors are open, the press is running and I'm getting a regular paycheck, I'm going to give this job my best. And I think I speak for a lot of others out there.

 

Since I've aged myself, I suppose I should admit I'm not unlike a lot of my generation in my weakness for Dodger Dogs and Robert Downey Jr., Mark. I also have a lot of family in the area.

But you're right, leaving the Last Best Place for a state that treats every recession as Michael Jordan treated every practice (first one in and last to leave) isn't going to be easy. I've appreciated the sort of relationship you can have with colleagues like you and the readership in Montana. It's unique and something I'll probably never get a chance to experience again.

Thanks for the kind words. If you ever find yourself stuck in a parking lot on the 405, look me up. But make sure you're using a bluetooth device because I'm not paying your ticket.

I also appreciate you chiming in, albert. I figured silence would be the second best possible response to my diatribe. I'm always happy to say I work in the same industry as people like you.