Assistant Sports Editor, Palmdale, CA

Assistant Sports Editor

Assist the sports editor in producing the sports section and managing staff. Supervisory position with staff of half-dozen young and able reporters. Ability to edit copy and produce pages on deadline essential. Working with sports editor to achieve goals with a high bar set. Experience as a copy editor or page designer necessary. The Valley Press is a suburban community daily in north Los Angeles County, with an hour or so access to beaches, mountains and Los Angeles attractions. Excellent benefits; compensation negotiated on experience, achievement. Send resume, with cover letter and clips, to Antelope Valley Press, Attn: Personnel, P.O. 4050, Palmdale, CA, 93590-4050, fax to (661) 267-4284, or e-mail to personnel@avpress.com.

 

I'm sure Toby will be along to provide some 411 on this one.

 

Feel free to message me with any questions (and be patient this week with my responses).
Community paper with high priority on local/preps as well as a junior college and the Class A California League affiliate of the Astros.
Small paper but good resources with staffing and space (we launched a 2-page daily MLB package this week).
The former ASE was promised a move to news months ago and was able to make that switch this week.

 

You rang?

Toby can fill in more of the nuts and bolts, since it's his gig to fill. But I worked at this paper for 7 1/2 years -- from 1992-2000 -- and still live in the AV.

Just to give you an idea about the area. The Antelope Valley is a bedroom community located roughly an hour north of downtown LA. It's known as an aerospace hub; the Stealth Fighter and Bomber are built there, as was the SR-71 Blackbird and the Space Shuttle, which lands at nearby Edwards AFB when the weather in Florida sucks.

Right now, we're known for having one of the highest foreclosure rates in the state because of the rampant overbuilding. The AV is one of the few places in SoCal where you can afford a home under 600k, although these days, that list is getting longer. You can buy a home for cheap, especially now.

It's not a bad place to live. Not a great place, but there are worse. You're an hour from Dodger Stadium, a bit more from Staples and about 50 min-hour from the Rose Bowl.

It's not a bad place to work. It's a family-owned paper and the editor -- Dennis Anderson -- is a pretty good guy who gives sports a fairly wide berth to do its thing.

They do a great job with the eight big high schools, 10 smaller HS, a JC they cover like a four-year school and the aforementioned Class A affiliate of the Astros in their area. Plus, they have the Hardest Working Man in Sports Writing -- one Brian Golden. He's their columnist and covers all the LA teams, as well as auto racing. The man is a virtual machine; it's frightening how prolific he is.

The ASE would be in charge of putting out the paper every night. You'd lay out and slot the section with a couple deskies/writers handling rim duties. I worked rim two nights a week part of the time I was there, even through I was the No. 2 writer on staff.

The thing about this position is it's typically the hardest position to fill on that staff. What they're asking for compared to what they'll pay usually weeds out the majority of folks, although they've had some good, good people in that position. Kevin Whaley (Atlanta) and Dan Dinsmore (Portland, ME), both of whom you've seen me rhapsodize about in various threads, had this position.

All that said, you can do far, far worse -- especially in this market.

 

I put in for this on Monday night. Fingers crossed ...

 

I'll back up Bird's comment about Dennis Anderson, a true professional journalist and genuinely just a good man. Additionally, there are perhaps three people in this world I've come across who, when having a conversation, I'd rather just shut up and listen to them. Dennis is one of them. Most impressive command of the English language and an eloquent speaker. And again, just a good human being.

 

I used to have full days covering two events in distant locales, but nothing compared with how much Brian Golden got around. And, like Mark Whicker at the Register, it didn't matter if it was Quartz Hill High or the Dodgers; he was there.

 

600k?!? No offence, but that sounds a bit high if you're making, say 30-40k per year. Should we assume the going rate to be significantly higher than that?

 

Maybe it was supposed to be 60k.
The Antelope Valley (northern LA County or Southern Kern County) does seem to be an affordable part of the state by comparison.

 

Toby, I understand there are a few more editorial position open at your place. What's going on?