Clarion-Ledger Miss. State beat

Gainesville is a dump? Wow. I'm not a huge fan myself, but there is a good amount of stuff to do there, even for a non-student.

 

Gainesville hardly has the old-timey, Southern charm some of the other SEC schools have, but there is a lot to do there - especially for non-students. I know people who have moved there from all over the country for the music scene.

 

Small point of order here on the nightlife in Starkville. There are several good places where an adult can go get an adult libation and sit with other adults and be an adult......adult.

It's not completely college bars and drunk frat daddies trying to get small-town sorority girls to go home with them. In fact, if you're a single male scribe, Starkville may be JUST the place for you. That last two beat writers for the Bulldogs have come out of that town with their brides. Both great catches. (I think Ian married after he left, but still a girl he met in Starkville.)

I wouldn't let the town scare you away. Be more concerned with Gene Swindoll's mullitude.

 

The right person in this job doesn't need a lot of outside distractions at first, anyway. It's a tall order to get up to speed on such a beat and begin producing at the level expected ... as the season starts, or is perhaps under way.

 

Nice.

 

I'm curious about this job in more specific terms. Any idea what the pay might be? What's is management like there? How likely to attack are the fans?

 

They generally disarm them at the gate. But they do have those cowbells ...

 

I would guess $30-$35k depending on experience. But that's just a wild guess. But this is Mississippi where minimum wage is about as prevalent as high school dropouts.

 

35K? For an SEC beat at the state's largest newspaper? I know it's Gannett, but that sounds way low to me ...

 

I'd imagine more like $45-50K.

 

In Mississippi? No way. Why do you think David is leaving? Clarion Ledger recently cut half of its staff. The average sports reporter in Mississippi makes around $25k — at best. I'm living proof.

 

Their print readership is dwindling like everyone else's. Nobody's paying for news anymore. Why when you can get online and get it for free?