Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald

They've been talking about the commuter rail since before the Olympics and still nothing has happened. There was another setback in this year's Legislature.

I'll believe it when I see it.

 

Since it's Morris does that mean they don't really staff any pro games in Atlanta? I'm sure they have plenty to do with UGA in town, but being 40 minutes away it might be a cool change of pace to do a Braves or Falcons feature every once in a while.

 

ouch

 

Because of the town and the great coverage opportunities, this should be an outstanding job. But the pay will surely suck, and the paper is run about as well as the Exxon Valdez.

Maybe it means nothing, but the staff has turned over completely in the past two years.

 

It's easy...

AJC
Augusta
Macon
Savannah
Columbus

then it's up for grabs

 

they rely on Morris for their braves coverage for the most part. Aside from covering stuff at uga and preps, there are two annual events they staffed this past year, the nhra event up in commerce and the nationwide tour event here in town.

They also, I believe sent someone down for the Master's this year as well.

 

yeah i was in Athens during Masters weekend and I'm fairly certain they had a staff writer there. a good portion of the section was coverage from Augusta and I don't think it was all Morris wire (I could be wrong about that, though). Athens is a decent paper. A couple of guys I work with aren't big fans after having worked there, but I think it's mostly because of the chain. It's definitely one of the better towns you'll ever come across.

 

My info was not accurate. I got this PM from another SportsJournalists.commer after my post:

commuter rail isn't hitting athens anytime soon. let me know if you want the details. i did like a 30 inch piece on when it's coming - now atleast 5 years off if all goes according to plan.


Still, a great place to invest in some property. I wish I had the disposable income to do that there --- maybe in a few years...

 

Let's see if I can clarify some things.

Athens is 60 miles from downtown Atlanta, 70 from the airport, but there are plenty of things to keep you busy in Athens. Tons of restaurants, bars, athletics, etc. It is one of the finest college towns in the country. Just ask Hoops.

We have a six-man staff.

We cover UGA and 22 high schools, a pro cycling race every spring, NHRA about 20 miles away, a Nationwide event in town. That doesn't include UGA's annual bowl trip and various SEC tournaments and NCAA regionals that come to town. We had the NCAA swimming championships in March, SEC softball tourney last week, a tennis regional last week and a softball regional this week. Next year, we'll have both NCAA tennis tournaments, at the same time.

We also send two writers to the Masters every year.

We do not cover much in Atlanta, but mainly because our other duties consume much of our time and because we have Morris writers there. The opportunity is there, however. The Falcons are based in Flowery Branch, about 45 minutes from Athens.

As far as the cost of living, it's a college town. Cheap rent, cheap booze, cheap eats. Two-bedroom apartments go for $450 or so.

The commuter rail is a dead issue for the time being.

And as far as being one of the best sections in the state, everyone has their own opinion, but bigger doesn't always mean better. We were top 10 APSE in both Sunday and special sections in 2005, honorable mention in daily.

 

How'd the ABH do in the APSEs last year?

 

You aren't kidding about the pay. I have a former co-worker who works at the paper (not in sports). When the paper had an opening for a Georgia beat guy a few years back, she told me to expect about $26-28K. Maybe, she said, they could push it t $29K. ... Even if the cost of living is cheap, so is that salary.

 

No offense, but it isn't like people are jumping off major league beats at the Big Metro Bugle to apply for this one. It's a chance for somebody to prove his/her bona fides at an under 30k that has a hell of a lot more opportunities for coverage that matters than most papers of similar size. And covering non-revenue UGA sports probably works to your advantage when lining up freelance gigs.