Merced (CA) Sun-Star

From jj.com

SPORTS REPORTER - We're the Merced Sun-Star, a McClatchy daily in the shadow of California's foothills. We've already won storerooms full of awards for excellence, but we're still full of ambition at a time when too many newspapers continue to march in place. Right now we're in the midst of converting a very good sports section into something even more spectacular: a daily tabloid sports magazine. We need a creative and enthusiastic pro to join us. Yes, you'd need to be a solid paginator for some desk shifts, but we also want a solid writer/reporter to handle assignments ranging from preps to Division I Fresno State football and basketball. We're a staff of multi-task experts looking for one more teammate. Salary competitive with the area, outstanding benefits, great place to live without spending enormous amounts of money. If you want to be part of something special, send a cover letter, resume and three work samples to Human Resources, 3033 North G Street, P. O. Box 739, Merced, CA 95340. Email welcome to pstone@mercedsun-star.com. EEO. Preplacement physical and drug screen required.

What do we know about the town and paper?

 

I used to work for the Turlock Journal when Merced was still owned by Pacific-Sierra. Back then it was the flagship paper. One former SE was arrested for solicitation of a minor. But overall the reporters were good guys, very hardworking (pacifica-sierra tended to overwork people).
I don't know anything about it after McClatchy bought it, but I imagine it was better now.
Merced itself is like any central valley town -- it has its rough parts and drug problems. Generally a good town with nice people, and the location is good -- about 2 hours to Sacramento, and three hours to the Bay Area. Yosemite is 45 minutes away. Covering sports in the smaller surrounding towns can be extremely rough (Atwater and Buchach Colony are particularly difficult).
And covering Fresno -- as a former Fresno State beat writer (and FS alumni), let me tell you, there's no better way to get clips and further your career. They do all kinds of crazy shit there, and you get the byline. Plus, the teams are generally pretty good when the players aren't arrested, suspended or being investigated.
Hope that helps. PM for more central valley info if you need it.

 

Reading this, i can't help but suspect someone from the Merced is now at Fresno.

 

I worked for the new SE there, Steve Cameron, in my first job, circa 1992 or so in Flagstaff Arizona. Long-time Royals writer for the KC Star, two different stints I think, and journalistic vagabound since those Flag days.

If you're a young writer, he'll give you a lot of freedom and make you better.

He'll also sometimes drive you nuts - one of my best friends, now an editor at Men's Health, ended up cat-sitting for weeks while Steve worked on a book - but he's personally endearing and has a million newspapers stories, so you put up with it.

(Of course I probably drove him just as nuts as a know-everything kid just out of Syracuse)

 

Having never worked west of the mississippi, would this pay a living wage, or would food-stamps be a necessity? And are california real estate horror stories fact or fiction?

 

Dingy Central Valley gas-and-fast-food pit stop. It's local, of course, so don't think you'll spend a lot of time talking to Pat Hill in Fresno. New UC that can't fill its enrollment targets.

 

How big is this paper?

 

Is Joe Kieta still the newsroom editor there?

 

California real estate stories aren't fiction, but this is Merced in the Central Valley, not Pebble Beach, Brentwood or even the Inland Empire, so you're not talking obscene, mind-boggling real estate prices.

Like Editude said, you're talking the dusty, agricultural Central Valley and all the baggage that comes with it.

 

My sister lives in Atwater, which is near Merced, and it is pretty pricey there, but not like the Bay Area or San Diego or anything. It could be quite a bit of sticker-shock to you, though, depending on where you are coming from.

 

Actually, never worked at the Bee, just for all the little guys around Fresno.
Real estate there isn't awful, but still higher than most places in the country. If you aren't from CA, make sure you don't expect an LA or SF experience. VERY different in Merced.

 

Nobody has any questions about what the hell kind of process goes into converting a daily section into a daily tabloid style newspaper magazine, or whatever they called it?

It sounds interesting on the surface, but what exactly is it?

And are they expecting to get a writer who can churn out magazine-quality stories but doesn't mind working a couple of shifts on the desk as well?

Any ideas?