Sports Copy Editor - The State

Position:
Sports Copy Editor
Location:
Columbia, South Carolina
Job Status: Full-time
Salary: Not Specified
Ad Expires:
July 19, 2007
Job ID: 790058


Description:
The State has a vacancy on its sports desk. We're looking for someone who knows and values the subtleties of the language, such as the difference between expect and anticipate; knows how to write a 10-inch story off a phone call; views headlines as creative puzzles; and knows how to excel in a fast-paced, customer-driven environment. We're located in the capital city of South Carolina, where college football and high schools are king. APSE and SND regularly honor our department because excellence is always our goal. If you're ready for the challenge, send a resume, editing samples (before and after versions preferred but not required) and a cover letter identifying what you believe to be the most widespread problem in sports copy today and how you have better prepared yourself to address it. Though some desk experience is preferred, talented newcomers will be considered. The State, a McClatchy newspaper, is committed to a diverse workplace and is an equal opportunity employer. Send packets to: Mark L. Lawrence Assistant Sports Editor The State 1401 Shop Road Columbia SC 29201 Email: mllawrence@thestate.com

http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=790058

 

Fine, I'll be the first to say it...the "I Wanna Dip My Balls In It" sketches could have been tightened up. This position is long overdue.

 

Editing samples? I can't say I ever saved any. And I can't see what you would learn from those that you wouldn't learn from an editing test in which the hiring editor controls the content and knows where all the tricks are (be a lot faster to weed through them, too) and all the applicants would be playing by the same rules. If you've edited copy at a few places, you know that you might not be editing the way you would if you had your druthers, you are editing according to the sensibilities of your current paper, sensibilities with which you may not entirely agree but them's the rules.

 

I won't speak to the effectiveness of the editing samples, but I will say this would likely be a very challenging job. ... They produce a heckuva lot of copy, both colleges and preps, and have crazy-large special sections. You'd get your fill of the ol' ball coach, and it'd be fast-paced, to be certain.

Good-looking paper, as well.

 

Wait a second...copy editing, no designing...the Ol' Ball Coach...Hmmmmm...

 

Hard not to credit this place with some amazing planning.
They almost always have well thought-out centerpieces, meaning copy-editors probably aren't just getting stuff at the last second and spell-checking it. Like Hammond said, this will extremely challenging but extremely rewarding.

 

The best cover letters always touch on something specific, either to the product or the area (or both). Helped Mrs. Editude with one last night, and she came up with a sharp anecdotal lead for what she was going for.

 

For what it is worth ...

I had an internship there in the summer of 1999. It is/was a great section with great people, although some of them (most of them, probably) are not there anymore. The city is great, too. There are a lot of great restaurants. But it is very hot and extremely humid there. That was my only complaint. But there is a Sonic like a mile from the newspaper. So, you can do what I did and buy a Route 44 Cherry Limeade before every desk shift to beat the heat. This is one of the two places I have had internships or jobs where I would LOVE to return eventually. Indianapolis was the other.

 

Expect + anticipate = Expectipate, problem solved.

 

That sonic is open 24 hours, for what it's worth.

 

And that Sonic is a great way to kill a few minutes waiting for the midnight train to Georgia to pass through.