Preps writer, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

[spinning27]

A trend I have noticed in the business lately is that bigger papers rarely hire their stringers as full-timers.

The attitude seems to be, "Why hire a stringer full-time when you can use and abuse them without paying benefits?"

But yeah, to go from prep job at a big paper to prep job at another big paper is pretty odd.

 

[joe]

From someone I know who works at the paper, the bottom line has become a deciding factor since Lee bought the P-D. I know nothing about the guy they hired, but their newsroom has become younger lately, which signals to me that they can get a younger person a lot cheaper than someone with more experience.

 

[Space Monkey]

Tough break for the stringer who's been serving as the P-D's lead prep writer for the last four years.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

Tough break for the stringer who's been serving as the P-D's lead prep writer for the last four years.

Yes it is. And he's not old by any stretch, which is why I don't think this is salary-related. I'm sure he'd have done the job for the same price as the guy they brought in.

 

[JME]

I think to some major metros, hiring a part-timer full-time simply isn't glitzy enough. They want to hand-pick someone from elsewhere. Which can be disheartening, knowing you have no chance to earn a job through hard work.

That's not to say every PTer at a major paper deserves to be hired -- most probably don't, honestly --but it seems some papers have a rule against hiring any.

 

[Riddick]

Tough break for the stringer who's been serving as the P-D's lead prep writer for the last four years.

Yes it is. And he's not old by any stretch, which is why I don't think this is salary-related. I'm sure he'd have done the job for the same price as the guy they brought in.

I'm not positive, but I believe the PD is a union paper, which means they pay based on years of experience . So, a recent grad would be cheaper than someone who's been working only a year or so.

 

[Space Monkey]

I think to some major metros, hiring a part-timer full-time simply isn't glitzy enough.

Funny thing is the guy the P-D hired was a part-timer at another paper.

 

[JME]

So I've heard.

 

[JayFarrar]

My understanding is that at least one of the regular stringers, who covers more than just preps, was offered the position and passed.

 

[thegrifter]

That's what I was wondering. I know the PD guy has been there for several years as a stringer. Wasn't sure about the Florida guy, though, as far as his tenure in Florida.

 

[Pringle]

Am I wrong or don't a lot of these stringers have other jobs? Jobs that might even pay well? And working for the P-D gives them nice extra income on top of it?

Not everyone wants to be a sports writer for a living.

 

[Lion_Woods]

Tough break for the stringer who's been serving as the P-D's lead prep writer for the last four years.

It's not even fair to call that guy a stringer. He didn't just cover games on Friday nights. He wrote features, broke news, covered recruiting, etc. He did more work than the full-time guys for half the pay.