Sports Writer, Durham, N.C.

I cannot forget what Paxton did to Mike Potter. I saw him when I could get to the ESA to cover the Whalercanes. He was busy ... almost at an AP-writer level in that he was keeping up with numerous beats such as the Durham Bulls and helping out with other stuff.

That's not necessarily a negative reflection on Jimmy DuPree, who has been there for quite a while. If it weren't for Paxton's doings with the Herald-Sun and the industry as a whole, I would push every chip, the Rolex watch and whatever pennies were left in the checkbook to the middle of the table for this one.

 

The Paxtons have some kind of Midas touch. What they did to Mike Potter was disgusting. Having previously worked for a Paxton paper, I know how low they can stoop.

 

Heard nothing but good things about Dupree. This is a stunning development.

 

Never said the first bad word about Jimmy DuPree, and I don't intend to start doing so anytime soon. What Paxton has done to the Herald-Sun is both sad and embarrassing, but that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with Dupree.

There are sharp, sincere, good people working at questionable places (Mike Potter is unquestionably Exhibit A in this example) and small people with major agenda and attitude problems at top-notch places. No secret here ...

 

Well said. The Paxtons are subhuman in the way they treat people. When I was at a Paxton shop, there was this surreal scene when four of the Paxton suits swept through the building. It looked like they walked off the set of the Sopranos. To think that the Herald-Sun was once a big-time metro daily. And now their circ is 25K. Unreal. With all that being said, they'll be flooded with apps for this gig.

 

I'm with you on that one, TarHeel316, and I speak from experience as well.

 

If you're going to apply for this job -- and there are lots of caveats here already -- better make sure up front you are the Duke beat writer, not "sometimes you'll get to cover Duke," which translated means you get to cover Duke football against second-tier FCS teams and Duke basketball against Delaware State or New Hampshire.

Also, get your clips and get out as fast as you can. This is a sinking ship.

 

I'll echo the warnings about Paxton and its penny-pinching ways. I know from personal experience. I would guess that the Herald-Sun will try to get away with paying the writer as little as possible even though this is a big-time beat there.

And don't think that Duke would be all you'll cover. You'll probably be covering prep games, Bulls games and all sorts of other beats. For much of Strick's time there, he was covering golf and Duke sports, and that was about it. I guarantee you that he wasn't also performing desk duties or layout.

This used to be a good sized paper where the UNC beat writer and Duke beat writer could devote nearly all of their time to those two beats that deserve lots of resources. Now Paxton has reduced the role of that position to what a prep writer at a smaller paper might have: covering several beats and pulling desk duties.

But, then again, the Herald-Sun is a much smaller paper in terms of circulation now because of how Paxton has gutted the staff and reduced the news hole. So maybe it's appropriate for a paper of its current size.

The Herald-Sun isn't alone in cutting staff and gutting coverage. But the circulation drop shows that Paxton really did a number on the Durham paper.

 

Yes, your new boss is nationally known as Coach K. Major control freak. No digging into things allowed. Write what he tells you all the time.

Good luck.

 

Durham is a 25k paper now? Are they in direct competition with another daily there?