Hiring Writers for CBSSports.com NFL Correspondent Network

Wow.

 

Um...I was working for FOX who carried it that year and it was still tough...and BR still sucks...and as long as your cat doesn't try and shave you while you nap then you are ok...

 

Ok, forgive me for being so cynical, but this whole B/R thing gets under my skin. Check my posts at the beginning of the thread if you want to see how I feel about this particular scenario.

But really guys (and gals), B/R is a FAN SITE. It's not real journalism. Not in the slightest sense. It's a bunch of people posting random articles on what they think of the BCS or Brett Favre, or whatever in the world they want to talk about. And that's fine. Good for them.

But I have two people that worked for me in college who are taking B/R internships over the summer as 'editors.' THIS makes me sick. I am not an editor right now and won't ever be one. But I for one, would not take in very high regard an applicant whose college internship was editing for B/R. You're not even editing for AP style, you're editing basic grammar and spelling. I just don't see how it's practical. But they dangle something out there that looks appealing and college kids jump all over it.

What do you guys think? Would you really look at something like that as a positive on a resume? Maybe the NFL beat deal because you can actually get clips. But the internships? Doing basically nothing? I wanted to talk them out of it, but who am I to tell them what to do. I think this whole B/R concept is stepping on the toes of real journalism and in NO way should any journalist be in support of it.

Rant over. For now.

 

Actually, you edit to the B/R standards. And let me tell you, it ruins your ability to edit to AP style. I was an editor for a few months there and I wanted to bang my head against the wall every night (see my sig at the bottom of the post). Really you edit for readability. Some of the columns / articles that are posted are so God-awful and un-readable that I had to quit and move to the next piece. Bad, bad, bad writing on there.

But like I said before WR, for the right person, this is a great gig. You can write: "It was AWESOME to watch Tom FREAKING Brady throw for 5 touchdowns while sitting down the row from Ed Werder and Skip Bayless from ESPN. Then after the press conference I actually spoke to Brady, OMG!!!!!"

 

You know, I've been reading this thread and it's pretty scary. For folks out there, like myself, who would like to add some NFL writing to the resume I thought this might be a decent gig to at least build some sources, clips, etc. But the more I read this thread, I wonder if someone with a legitimate journalism background who would go after this position for the possibilities of connections and clips would be making a mistake in doing so.

I agree that the money isn't great for the probablity of long hours, but it seems like it would be something that potential connections and clips would be worth it if somebody doesn't get bitten by the stigma that seems to go for writing for Bleacher Report.

 

That may well be true. And such is part of the tragedy of corporate-run journalism. The people running the places don't care.... certainly not like in the old days.

Write a good story, fine. Write a crappy story and bury the lead, fine, so long as we make deadline and don't get sued. That's the prevailing attitude of management at a lot of places. I never got bitched at for being scooped, writing a poorly-organized story, etc. I got bitched at plenty if I missed deadline.

If quality mattered, do you think some of these veteran reporter and copy editors would have been laid off this year? It has nothing to do with performance. Not now, anyway.

 

You know, I was going to stop, but you did have to pile on that last one.

A job is not going to be compromised by my posting on here. Specifically, if an employer actually does look a these will see it has been an almost all against one mentality here. My original post was not vulgar, it was the ones that others posted that were blasting me, criticizing me, etc.

If you want to take a look at the source of my apparant "attitude problem" take a look in the mirror because each one of you who responded to me in a negative way initiated my "attitude". I appreciate the true constructive criticism.

You all talk about being better, and more accomplished then myself and all of this crap that old people just love to pile on. You all are no better then me by stooping to my level, remember that.

That is truly pathetic.

To all of you who think I actually care about being a serious journalist for a life-long career, I plan on going to law. This is simply a hobby that turned into an intriguing potential career when I realized that I am half decent at it. If something pans out great, if something does not pan out, cut the losses and move on.

And really, who gives a f*ck about spleling in a forum, GET A LIFE!

 

See, now that will help get you hired.

 

I repeat: