Garden City, Kansas - sports writer

The Garden City Telegram seeks a sports writer to join its sports staff. The successful candidate will help develop story ideas and provide coverage for 19 high schools and one community college in our 12-county area, and will be a key member on a staff of two full-time sports reporters. Responsibilities would include event coverage, features, columns, copy editing and some multimedia and page design. Candidates should have strong writing and reporting skills, knowledge of or willingness to embrace multimedia and online journalism, be willing to travel, and able to work nights and weekends. The Telegram, part of the six newspaper Harris Group, offers a generous salary and benefits, a chance to work with an outstanding staff and opportunity for advancement. The Telegram is an Equal Opportunity Employer. To apply, send résumé, cover letter and work samples to: Brett Marshall, sports editor, The Garden City Telegram, 310 N. Seventh St., Garden City, KS 67846 or e-mail bmarshall@gctelegram.com


What can people tell me about this gig? I just received a call from Brett Marshall, the sports editor. He is narrowing down the candidates. The opportunity for advancement is a plus.

 

The opportunities for advancement are limitless. There's no place to go but up, even it will mean another relocation in the future.

 

From the looks of it, you will get one hell of a mileage check every month.

 

Well, right now I have a decent job making about 26k takehome. Not sure if I should give that job up for this one. I think the opportunity for advancement is greater, but seems like an awful lot of travel. The mileage, though, as stated earlier could lead to some nice bank.

 

As being the reporter from the town's rival paper (the town, Dodge City, there is only one paper there)...Garden City would be a great place. You would definitely get a nice check there as the Buffaloes (Garden City High) travel to Great Bend (130 miles away for league games) and Hays (150), as well as Liberal (45) and Dodge City (50). If you are a city slicker...you may think Garden City is in the middle of nowhere...but they have a lot of the same things places like Manhattan has. City is about 40,000 people. You are also about three hours from Pueblo and the Rocky Mountains.

One final thing...Brett Marshall (sports editor) is a great guy and would be a great person to work with.

 

It was my understanding that this job actually opened about a month ago. Is it only just now being posted anywhere?

 

This was my old position. Not a bad paper, good staff. You'll probably be handling stuff with the junior college. PM me if you want more info.

 

By 26k takehome, you mean $1,000 per two-week paycheck? Because if you do, you'll go some decent time before seeing that again.

From what I know of the job, you'll work your ass to death and live in the middle of nowhere. And not like the halfway middle of nowhere, the bona fide middle. I'm sure some will disagree, but that's the report I got.

 

That's why it says a 12-county area. I suspect a lot of it is phone work. You might make a couple of trips per month. Most papers have their "core" schools in the immediate geographic area and then the "fringe" schools further away. For most of those, it means call in your scores and we'll run them and maybe do a feature every now and then if you have a great story. With a two-person staff, there's a limit on what you can do.

 

In other words, you know nothing about newspapers in southwestern Kansas.

 

I interviewed (over the phone) with this paper about five years ago. I remember the guy seeming nice enough. When they wanted me to fly out for an interview on my own dime I cut it off. I hated the idea of living out there to begin with.

This part of the country is hell if you like anything resembling a city and culture and enjoyment. Plus, the stockyards. I've heard horror stories about the smell.

 

It was posted on Kansas Press Association a while back.