Sports Writer, Laurinburg, N.C.

Don't know if this is a repost or what. It's from JournalismJob.com
A sports reporter is needed for the Laurinburg Exchange, a newspaper in Southeastern North Carolina.

The reporter will be responsible for any and all sports stories arising from the Scotland County community. Duties include:

-8 to 12 stories a week on sports happenings throughout the community, including but not limited to Scotland High School and St. Andrews University

-Managing and printing sports-related press releases and other relevant material

-Ability to organize and maintain contacts inside the sports community, which include coaches, athletic directors and local officials

-Strong people skills

-Serviceable photography skills

The Laurinburg exchange is part of Civitas Media, LLC (Civitas), a new community news media company.

 

Civitas is the successor company of the former Heartland (or Heartless) Publications. With that being said, prep football is very strong in that area.

 

Having held this position for about a year starting in late 2009 (taking over for Mike Gilliland, who was there for 6 years), it's a good place to get your feet wet. The preps are very good, especially the football team (granted I covered them during part of their down years) and the baseball is pretty solid year in and year out. In fact most of the preps are pretty solid there.

I also covered St. Andrews University (they were Division II at the time, but moved to NAIA after some accreditation issues) when I had time or if there was a lull during the prep periods (usually during spring and in-between seasons). The sports there aren't really anything to write home about though it gives you a lot of chances to cover different sports such as lacrosse during the spring, and also you've got day baseball and softball. In fact all the fall and spring sports outside are during the day, so if you're looking to get good photos, there's that.

Now if you want college football, UNC-Pembroke isn't too far away and several Scotland standouts played there during my time.

As for the staff, Scott Witten (the news editor) is good people, isn't a micromanager by any means. He usually lets you do your thing. Most of the front office people have left since I was there.

Needless to say, like any Civitas company, there's a lot of turnover (with this hire, it'll be their fifth sports reporter in the past 4 years). I'm one of the few people who actually had a decent experience with the company.

Why I left? I was transferred to the mother paper in Lumberton (less than stellar experience) to bring in a new sports writer. Needless to say, didn't stay too long there (and, interestingly enough, it had nothing to do with the editor in Lumberton, who I'm sure most area sports people know about).

The reason I left Heartland was simple: I got a better sports writing opportunity that paid better (considerably more).

A number of things have changed since I worked there 3 years ago. First, all the layout in done in Lumberton (I had to do my own layout in Laurinburg and have it to Lumberton by 10:30, even during football season). They still have Tuesday through Saturday morning editions (with occasional Saturday work, but pretty much it's about as close to a Monday-through-Friday gig as you'll get in this profession). Since I left, the deadline has changed considerably (I think it's 7:30 now). As for pay...I'd say probably somewhere in low 20s (though it may be less since no layout is required but full benefits).

Would I suggest it to someone looking to gain experience and move on, definitely (it taught me a lot of things that I still use, even though I work at a tri-weekly now).

Hope this has helped some.

 

Is this one still open?

 

I interviewed for this position last week. With that being said, I haven't heard back from Mr. Witten. I know he had interviews lined up all last week. Hoping for the best though.

 

If this still happens to be open, where do I apply & what do I need to send resume-wise?

 

What is the pay like there?

 

Per the OP, you should check the ad at jj.com.