High school sports editor/Knoxville News Sentinel

I'll be moving quickly to fill an opening for the high school sports editor at the News Sentinel in Knoxville, Tenn. This is not a management position although you oversee nine freelance writers. The job should be posted late next week.
You'll need to be an excellent writer, understand social media, have good planning skills, shoot video, speak in public settings, appear on TV and radio shows and most importantly have a thick skin.

Here's the job description that will appear on the website (www.scripps.com).



Multimedia Journalist-Sports

Responsibilities:
•Maintain a close working relationship with potential news sources, real as well as general reporting. Engage readers through social medial by responding to reader comments and pursing other avenues of interaction with audiences.
•Be on alert at all times for breaking news in order to generate story ideas and plan coverage effectively. Main focus will be high school sports.
•Write articles, take photographs or shoot video as necessary to tell the story.
•Develop updates to live stories throughout the day, with several deadlines built into the workday.
•Carry a camera equipped with still and video capabilities and be prepared to cover all aspects of a particular story.
•Assign coverage and work with a group of freelancers.
•Plan content for weekly PrepXtra section.

Requirements:
•Have the ability to post breaking news
•Must be able operate a camera equipped with still and video capabilities
•Must be able to write clearly and succinctly on a variety of topics, which may extend beyond the primary focus of the beat
•Basic knowledge of web publishing tools and/or the ability to learn new technology quickly
•Proficient used of Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Outlook and PowerPoint)
•Exceptional organizational skills and the ability to meet deadline in a fast paced environment
•Excellent communication and presentation skills
•BS/BA in news/media discipline or equivalent experience
•3-5 years of experience in a related field


You can send resume, cover letter and four of your best clips to kaplanp@knoxnews.com

Thanks,
Phil Kaplan
Sports editor
News Sentinel

 

Hmmmm, interesting....solely stringers or are there any full-time writers?

 

I have six writers on my staff. Only one deals with preps.

 

The position has been filled. Had to move fast. I'll wait until the new hire makes an announcement before releasing the name.

 

Wow, Phil! You did move quickly! lol

 

Chris Thomas of Alabama Media Group hired. Previously Chris was high school editor at Clarion-Ledger. Chris was a part-time clerk at the News Sentinel while attending Tennesssee.

 

great hire on Phil's part... Chris was designing sports pages and really took ownership of what he did...
And this also means Chris's job as a designer is open at AMG.... but it's more than design
And I can tell you they also want to move quickly... (and I feel no shame for piggybacking on Phil's post)....

 

About three years ago, when I was the SE of The Clarion-Ledger, I put a post on here looking for a full-time Scoreboard Editor. Phil Kaplan emailed me that night and said he had a guy who would be a perfect fit, Chris Thomas, working part-time and building agate pages. About a month later, we hired Chris. We paid him peanuts and made him work lots of nights and weekends, but he didn't complain a bit. It wasn't long before he was doing way more than punching in boxscores and building agate pages. He worked hard and took ownership of everything we threw at him -- and more. Now he's back in Knoxville with a much bigger job than the one he had when he left Knoxville less than three years ago. That's how you do it. Congrats to Chris, and Phil.