Sports Writer, Wilson (NC) Times

The Wilson Times, an award-winning morning daily is seeking an experienced sports writer. Must be able to write accurate game stories, features and columns as well as help develop story ideas, in addition to handling call-ins and emails on a nightly deadline. Candidates must have experience in layout using Adobe InDesign as this is a big part of the job. There is some photography involved. We cover the heck out of our 11 area high schools, Div. II Barton College and community sports, but also cover Atlantic Coast Conference football and men's basketball teams as well as East Carolina football when the schedule permits. Please respond with resume and clips of recent work to Paul Durham, Sports Editor at paul@wilsontimes.com.

One of the few family-owned dailies still around. Paul is good people, too.

 

Not too many shops Down East I'd recommend, but Wilson is one of them. When I was at Rocky Mount, always loved making the trip to Fike, Hunt or Beddingfield because the Times guys were professional and friendly.

Tom Ham has been there forever. I believe Al Myatt and Mike Grizzard are both Wilsonites. Good place to polish your craft. Plus, you're less than an hour from the Triangle.

In addition to what Paul listed, they used to cover the crap out of the Carolina Mudcats during the summer. Plus, if you love old-timey stadiums, there's a collegiate wood bat team that plays at Fleming, which was built just before World War II.

Make sure you stop at Parker's.

 

This was my first job out of college. Of course I graduated in 2008 when the economy went to shit and was laid off not too long after I started. They actually laid off a shit-ton of people 3 years ago. Hopefully it's a little more stable now. Used to be an afternoon paper and a split-shift place but it's now a morning paper so don't know if that's still the case. Aaron Beard (now with the AP) and Eddie Wooten (Greensboro SE) went through here. They went to a redesign a couple years back that looks kinda generic. That said, there are definitely worse jobs out there than this one and I would recommend it to anyone for a first (or second) job. Greenfield usually churns out very good boys basketball and soccer teams. Saints TE Jimmy Graham went to nearby Community Christian. There's 3 county public high schools.

Wilson isn't a metropolis, but for Eastern NC it's very livable. All the conventional chain restaurants and stores are there. I'd rather live there than Rocky Mount, Lumberton, Fayetteville, Kinston, etc... For more excitement, Raleigh and Greenville are very manageable drives.

Most importantly, it's pretty much the epicenter of Carolina bbq. Although Tarheel316 may argue that one.

 

You may have just outed me.lol

 

I'll toss my two cents in as well, as a former Times staffer. I'd recommend it as first or second stop for an aspiring writer -- or for anyone who really enjoys Eastern North Carolina. As PD said, they cover the heck out of preps and Barton College, which, honestly, has served me quite well in my current job. That means covering games -- a lot of games -- but there are opportunities for features and other stories, as well. While I was there, it was preps and BC almost every day during the school year with the option of ACC/ECU on the weekends. I enjoyed covering the ACC in those days (not so much anymore), so I was happy to drive an hour each way for the opportunity. During the summer, it was mainly the wooden-bat league team, the Wilson Tobs, and every so often the Carolina Mudcats and some local golf and the like. You'll also be lugging a camera to most events, although it seems like they've gotten more help from the staff photographers than while I was there. All in all, I enjoyed my four years there -- it was a great place to grow. I enjoyed working with Morgan Dickerman (the publisher), Jon Jimison (the editor) and PD, as well as the entire staff. As a Triad native, I grew up thinking Eastern North Carolina was a wasteland. I was right, in that there really wasn't much to do for a 20-something single guy, but it was pretty OK. Like I said, I'd recommend it.

 

Not much to add to what's been said. Except I wouldn't really call anything in Greenville "excitement." It's where I grew up, where I swore I'd never return, and where I am now, for grad school at ECU. Did my undergrad at Barton when I thought I'd make it as a baseball player. (Failed pretty awesomely.) I freelanced quite a bit for the Wilson Times when I was a student there, and everyone I worked with, from features to sports, was really nice and, for the most part, easy to work with. Paul Durham was the sports editor at the time, and he was great to me.

Never worked there fulltime, but it seems like a great place to get better as a writer.

I'll echo was Lindsay said up there. Eastern NC isn't the greatest place in the world, but you can do a lot worse than Wilson. And definitely make sure to hit up Parker's BBQ.

 

Plus, there's gotta be, what, a half dozen or so Cookouts near there?

 

Definitely at least one I know of in Wilson, maybe two now, but I'm not sure. When they built that first one my junior year, dude, talk about big news.

Forget Cookout though. Bojangles is the fast food to eat in eastern NC. Since age nine, I've been eating the same three things from there: (1) Four-piece supreme dinner with fries, honey mustard, biscuit and sweet tea or Mountain Dew, (2) Cajun chicken sandwich combo with fries and a sweet tea or Mountain Dew, and (3) a Cajun chicken biscuit breakfast combo—served all day long—with hash rounds and Mountain Dew. Number three is perfect for hangovers. And to any, you can add a Bo-Berry Biscuit for dessert.

Man. I probably ate Bojangles two or three times a week in college.

 

That is definitely a plus!

 

I think there was only one Cookout while I was there. But, fortunately, it was right on my route home and stayed open late. I definitely had to make a conscious effort to cut back because it was starting to get ridiculous how much I ate there, haha. And there are a couple of Bojangles in town, as well. Their sweet tea and chicken supreme combo is one of my all-time favorites. Plus, as these guys have said, you can't beat Wilson for ENC barbecue. Parker's and Bill's are both outstanding.

So, yeah, as Brandon and others have said, it's certainly a fine place to live. It's not like there's zero to do, and the folks around town are as nice and welcoming as you'll find. But it is a small, rural town, and it is a challenge to grab a drink or a bite to eat after work during the week when the vast majority of places have closed well before midnight. After four years, for me, that got old. But for someone who maybe prefers living in a smaller town or has a family, I say go for it.

One more thing: Be prepared to drive -- a lot -- and get a GPS if you don't have one. Those roads out there toward Southern Nash and SouthWest Edgecombe are about as rural as they come and not very well marked. So, coming back from a Friday football game in the pitch-black can be quite an adventure until you learn the way. In my four years, I went everywhere from Currituck to Brunswick to Greensboro to Charlotte. So, yeah, you'll definitely put some miles on your car. It can be a grind, but like I said, you'll experience a great deal and learn a lot.

 

Parker's is good for Eastern style...but B's in Greenville and Wilbur's in Goldsboro are the best by far!

 

Have heard nothing but good things about Morgan Dickerman and the way he has run the WDT over the years.

Not as familiar with Paul Durham years later, but Tom Ham will outlast us all.

Wilson isn't a hub of excitement, and anyone - outside perhaps an ECU alum - who thinks Greenville is needs to see a little more of the world. But Raleigh and the Triangle aren't too far away.

Still surprised that WDT goes to Pinetops (SouthWest Edgecombe) and Stanhope (Southern Nash), but if their readership is strong enough to continue justifying it, then kudos to the publication. Good places as long as you realize that it's not a serious, serious hoppin' sort of place. Emphasis will be on the preps and Barton, though the opportunities to hit the occasional ECU football and ACC football and basketball game is probably still there.

Wilbur's is good ... McCall's is better. I will not argue this.