Antelope Valley Press Sports Editor

Yes, Chris covered the Cal League in '96 and '97, the first two years we had a team in Lancaster. He's now covering education for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

The SE in the late 90s, when I was there, was Dan Dinsmore, who is now superbly running the sports section at the Portland Press-Herald in Maine. Dan is the ultimate self-made man in this biz; a local boy who went to Antelope Valley High, he started out as a stringer under your's truly (who was prep editor in the early 90s) and worked his way up from there.

And yes, we had a damn good section at that time. Dinsmore and the very-talented Kevin Whaley, who just left a job as ASE of the copy desk at the Indianapolis Star to become a content manager at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution were running things and running them very, very well.

With those two at the helm, not to mention some other talented folks -- all but one who are no longer there -- the AV Press overachieved to heights it hasn't seen since.

 

Good luck to Purcell; a good dude.

 

George:

You might be referring to Jason Anderson. He was in Fresno before going to the Antelope Valley Press about five years ago, but he only stayed a year or two before going to Stockton to cover Pacific basketball.

 

Chris and Jason don't ring a bell. Hell, it has been so long. I remember what he looks like ... about 6-foot, glasses, white guy. Kinda goofy.

 

Hello SportsJournalists.commies. I have never felt so compelled to chime in, but I don't know where to start.

Purcell first. Big loss. I stayed in the AV for only a year, but it took about a week to see he was exactly what you want in a sports editor. Good guy, good editor. Good luck, John.

And as for you, GeorgeMoore, unless I'm mistaken, you should remember me. Hard to believe I didn't make more of an impression at some point while we were attending the same high school, writing for the same student paper and playing for the same baseball and football teams. I know it's been a long time, but my God, man, you're killing my rep. Hope life has been good to you ... you know, aside from the journalism career.

 

I was wondering if that was you. Figured the world wasn't that small for it to be the same Jason Anderson. But actually, you're not the guy I'm talking about who worked at the Antelope paper. This kid worked with me in Fresno. How the hell are ya? Shoot me an e-mail. georgewmooreiii@pensacolanewsjournal.com

 

Yeah, I knew you were referring to someone else. I didn't even know you spent time in Fresno. Sounds like we didn't miss each other by much, though. I'll e-mail later.

For anyone interested in this job, there's a lot to like. The Antelope Valley isn't as glamorous as, say, Bakersfield, but it's the kind of place where stuff happens. In addition to a good local scene, they cover home games for the Lakers, Clippers, Kings, Ducks, Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels of the Universe. They also staff home football and basketball games at USC and UCLA. If you could organize a car wash to fund a redesign, you'd be in serious business.

Editor Dennis Anderson (no relation) is a former fighter pilot who gets fired up over a good story. Scott Kaniewski, who would be a great SE, is very bright and easy to work with. And Bird is right about the AV Press turning out some good people. Dinsmore and Branam obviously are doing well, Josh Kleinbaum was at the LA Daily News last I heard, and Kevin Whaley has to be one of the best editors in the business. That's enough out of me, but I'd be happy to help if anyone has questions.

 

Oh, man. That is a good one. I grew up in SoCal. There is not much that is GLAM about Lancaster/Palmdale or Bakertucky.

 

Im pretty sure the goofy guy that was a clerk in Fresno is Robert Johnson. Sorry, Robert S. Johnson.

 

any news on this one?

 

For those applying for the job, just keep in mind that the add talking about "two award winning writers" and "two ace design people" is misleading. It's true that two people won awards, but one of those writers is also one of those design people. Never mind the fact that the other design person is the acting sports editor and a candidate for the permanent job.