Jaguars beat writer, Florida Times-Union

That's correct. But after speaking with an editor friend who works at the T-U--and filled me in on the whole Bart situation, which is not pretty, by the way--the friend believes the Henry Gale reference is an inside joke. I guess the actor who portrays Gale on Lost once either lived or still lives in Jax. Or something like that. Not sure.

Boots: No, please, tell me someone took over your computer and wrote the rubber hose thing. Please...

 

No one took over my computer and let's not air Bart's problems over the net.

 

OK then ... I have lived there (for 4 of the better years of my life) and you need to stop talking out of your ass. Unless you're expecting a happenin' club scene with the snooty nightclub doormen that implies, Jacksonville is actually a pretty good place to live --- especially for somebody with a family. Plenty of recreation, plenty of shopping, and the beach is right there. NAS Mayport is the assignment many Navy men and women would battle each other out in the parking lot to get.

If only the TU weren't a Morris paper, it would be a really good job. As it is, Fussman still probably has 500 resumes on his desk waiting for him to come into the office Monday morning.

 

Dude here's a flash for you. I was basicially raised there and worked at the TU for several years. Your 4 year prison sentence don't mean diddly when compared to my time there. Before you start mouthing off, KNOW what you are talking about.
You may resume posting.

 

Look, bottom line is this job will be filled by 1) an insider or 2) a laid off K-R staffer with 20 years of NFL experience; 3) a cheap college grad. That leaves any grinder out of the running.

 

100,000-250,000

DAILY

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Salt Lake Tribune
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Honorable mention:
Akron Beacon-Journal
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Florida Times-Union
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White Plains Journal-News

Just curious, boots: How long ago did you reside in Jacksonville? That info might make for an interesting comparitive study for people who live there now, or have lived there in the recent past like coffeeman, et al. Your stance on the city seems to be the most critical, it would be enlightening to hear some anecdotes (without giving away your identity, of course).

 

I interviewed at the T-U and in my limited time there found Fussman to be a good guy. Didn't spend much time with the staff, but did travel around the city a bit. Any place with Publix and an Ale House is all right by me.

J'ville is the biggest city in the U.S. in terms of square miles, so I'd assume there are some bad spots (complete with $2 crack whores), but on the whole it felt fairly comfortable for a city I'd never been in -- even when I got lost and had to ask for directions from some guy at a roadside peanut stand.

 

Just to remind everybody, that's the APSE awards for this year he posted.

Boots, Jacksonville has changed in the two decades or so you've been away.

The downtown shoreline was completely overhauled in advance of Jax hosting the Super Bowl (which I'm sure made the folks at Jacksonville University very happy, since they had to look at some of the worst parts across the St. John's River), the paper mills don't stink to high heaven like they did back in the day, several new bridges have done a lot to clear up some of the worst traffic tie-ups, the First Coast is rarely a target for tropical cyclones because of the coastal geography and Jacksonville hosts one of the best jazz festivals anywhere1 every spring.

And it's an NFL beat. And my contacts on Riverside Drive tell me that Fussman is a damn sight better editor than some of his predecessors. That somewhat makes up for the Bubba Morris factor. Stay for a few years, kick ass and take names, and people will be calling you to offer you a job, instead of you begging them. Or, if you really like it there, stay. Lots of people do.

1This year's inclusion of Kenneth Gorelick notwithstanding.

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again...I worked with a ex-Navy guy who raved about Jacksonville and he was a left-wing punk rock type. So it's obviously not a redneck pisshole. And, this does involve covering an NFL team for the hometown newspaper, so it's a big boy/big girl job.

 

What's wrong with redneck pissholes? Some of my best childhood memories took place there. ;D

 

I spent a good chunk of my life in redneck (actually, most of them were Cajun) pissholes. Done with that, thanks. I prefer Whole Foods to Piggly Wiggly, indie rock bands to mainstream country artists, artsy movies to Hollywood blockbuster crap and college girls to high school dropouts.

 

Shitty food, shitty music, shitty movies and shitty people can be found anywhere, Southern stereotypes aside.

I grew up in Arkansas and couldn't wait to get out of there. But if my work ever takes me back, I'm staying. Sure, many of the people aren't as "cultured" as some might like, but they're generally nice, something that cannot be said for many of the people I've encountered elsewhere.

Too often, the South is painted with one big "redneck" brush, and that just annoys me. I've met good people in many varied places, but the ones in South have been the best of the bunch.