Rachel George accomplished a lot in four years as the high school reporter for the StarNews Media Group in Wilmington, N.C.
The first-place award for investigative reporting in the most-recent APSE writing contest was just the latest recognition for years of work that also included an attention-getting Title IX series.
Next for George will be the University of Florida beat, which she will cover for the Orlando Sentinel. She replaces Jeremy Fowler, who left Orlando to cover the Minnesota Vikings for the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
“Rachel’s talent and work ethic helped her do great things in Wilmington and show she’s ready for the next challenge in her career,” said Tim Stephens, sports topics manager at the Sentinel. “I have no doubt she will carry on our long tradition of outstanding beat reporters based in Gainesville."
For George, a 2006 St. Bonaventure graduate, leaving Wilmington was going to be difficult.
“Professionally, I am inspired and challenged by them everyday,” George said. “I came here as a 22-year-old newbie fresh out of college with no contacts in this town, and my work family has been just that — a family.”
She said she was attracted by the “innovative environment in Orlando,” as the paper helps lead the way in how to cover sports.
On her first major college beat, George said the main challenges will be finding unique stories and providing depth.
“The first one is so difficult with so many reporters on this beat,” George said. “I’ll have plenty of competition to get a brief on an ankle injury, for instance. But, what I hope I can do is find something that other people aren’t writing.
“My other big challenge is depth. Beyond the day-to-day routine of practices and games, what other stories are there? What trends are there? What else is going on around the program?”
Based on past history, George will come in with ideas and a way to execute them.
She said she pitched a series on Title IX during her job interview in Wilmington before she was hired in August 2006.
“The initial idea was to look at the effect it had locally for the 35th anniversary in 2007,” George said. “A lot of work went into that, and I think I took a realistic approach at what had been accomplished but also what was still to be done.”
A few months after the series, George said, a local teacher (who also was a coach and a parent) filed a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights about the facilities at the school where he was employed. After receiving the complaint, the OCR found George’s series online, closed the complaint and began a complete compliance review of the school district, New Hanover County Schools.
A nine-month OCR investigation found several issues with facilities.
“In most places, it was that boys teams had a locker room while the girls teams did not, or that the facilities were nicer,” George said. “Since the findings came out, I have been covering the story as the district tried to comply with the resolution agreement. The final item, creating locker rooms in the gyms at two of the schools, is currently under construction and should be done by the November 2010 deadline.”
George’s APSE award came as a result of her investigative reporting for a story on the aging Jap Davis Field House at New Hanover High School. Because of her work, the building was condemned and then renovated.
“Thinking about that story is overwhelming at times because it doesn’t seem real that something I wrote could have such a tangible effect,” George said. “The first time I felt it was when the school board approved the money and we knew it would be fixed.
“Just a few weeks ago, the field house was reopened for the kids to use, and that was a really emotional day for me. First, it doesn’t look like the same building, and, save for the outside walls, it really isn’t. I applaud the district for doing the renovation the right way and giving those players a first-class facility that will be safe for them to use.
“While I am immensely honored to have received the APSE award, it cannot compete with being here that day when the kids walked in their locker room. The surprise and joy on their faces when they first saw the inside of that building was something I will always remember.
“I know a lot of people worked to make that happen, and I don’t want to overstate my role in it, but I do feel that my reporting helped affect change. And that’s really exciting.”
The Orlando Sentinel also promoted Zach McCann, formerly a part-time news assistant, to the multimedia reporter. McCann was the student of the year in the Orlando Sentinel’s first High School Sports Reporting Institute in 2004.
McCann will cover the Orlando Magic, college football, NASCAR and more for OrlandoSentinel.com. McCann replaces Tania Ganguli, who left to cover the Jacksonville Jaguars for the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville.
Stephens said as of late August the paper was still in the process of filling the college editor and national college writer positions.
Yahoo! Sports adds four
Yahoo! Sports hired some familiar names for four positions recently.
Derek Samson was hired as assistant managing editor for college recruiting. He had been working at the Sporting News and made previous stops at the Kansas City Star and Idaho Statesman.
Greg Gibson was hired as the assistant managing editor for college team sites. Gibson previously served as special projects editor at Yahoo! Sports. In addition, he was the sports editor at the Orange County Register, Tacoma News-Tribune and the Daily Breeze of Torrance, Calif.
Nick Cotsonika from the Detroit Free Press was hired to cover the NHL, and Les Carpenter from the Washington Post was hired as a general assignment reporter.
“The additions of Derek and Greg give our college team some of the best editing brainpower in the country,” said Gerry Ahern, Yahoo! Sports managing editor for colleges. “With Nick and Les, we have added two of the top writing talents in the land. Our staff just keeps getting better.”
NORTHEAST
New York Times — Steve Reddicliffe joined the sports department to manage business and media coverage. Reddicliffe shifted to sports from the Times' media section, where he managed coverage of advertising, magazines and television and edited the Media Decoder blog. Before joining the Times, he worked at Entertainment Weekly, served as editor of Parenting magazine and TV Guide. His previous newspaper experience includes The Miami Herald, The Baltimore News-American, The Dallas Times Herald and New York Newsday. Reddicliffe replaced Jason Stallman, who moved to the national desk as news editor. … Josh Penrod, a news designer, left the Times to take a job as design director for the Los Angeles Times sports department. … Thayer Evans, a freelance reporter who made regular contributions to the Times, joined Fox Sports as a full-time college reporter.
The Recorder (Amsterdam, N.Y.) — Hired Michael Kelly as a sports reporter. Kelly, a graduate of SUNY Stony Brook, replaced Amanda Comak, who accepted a similar position with her hometown paper, the Cape Cod Times.
The Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, Mass.) — Hired Christopher James as a full-time sports writer. James, 24, was previously at The Daily Times in Maryville, Tenn. James replaces Chris Carlson, who is now at the Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va.
MID-ATLANTIC
Baltimore Sun — Night content editor Andy Knobel has been named deputy sports editor (nights) and will continue to oversee evening operations. Knobel joined The Sun’s sports department in 1988 as a copy editor and has worked in sports the past 20 years as a slot editor and late news editor. He was appointed deputy sports copy chief in 2004, sports copy chief in 2006 and sports night content editor in 2009. Knobel previously was a night sports editor and reporter for the York (Pa.) Daily Record and a news and sports reporter for the Post-Standard in Syracuse, N.Y. He graduated from the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University in 1981 and worked as editor-in-chief and managing editor for The Cornell Daily Sun. Andy lives in Columbia, Md., with his wife, Julie, and two children, Alex and Rachel. … Placed Mike Catalini, a content editor overseeing the sports columnists, in charge of Ravens coverage. A 2006 Penn State graduate with a degree in journalism, Catalini started at The Sun on the metro copy desk. In 2007, he moved to the Sun Rising team to edit breaking-news content for the website, including video. A year later, he moved to the multimedia desk full time, where he worked on sports, metro and features video, including live streaming. Last year, he became a content editor in the sports department, working closely with Peter Schmuck, Mike Preston and Candy Thomson.
ATLANTIC COAST
The State (Columbia, S.C.) — Named Josh Kendall, who has covered the Southeastern Conference for almost a decade, as the new University of South Carolina football beat writer. Kendall replaced Joseph Person, who joined another McClatchy newspaper, The Charlotte Observer. Person will cover the Carolina Panthers, and his coverage also will appear in The State. Kendall most recently covered the SEC for FoxSports.com and FoxSportsSouth.com. He also founded OurVarsity.com, a high school sports website used by 19 newspapers throughout the country. Before that, he covered University of Georgia sports for the Macon Telegraph and the Athens Banner-Herald for eight years. Kendall broke the story of Larry Munson’s retirement as the longtime voice of the Bulldogs, and he earned a Freedom of Information award for his reporting on the firing of former Georgia basketball coach Jim Harrick. … Josh Hoke joined Kendall as part of the new USC coverage team for The State and GoGamecocks.com. Hoke covers Gamecocks recruiting. Hoke is a former kicker for Coastal Carolina and was a part of several Big South championship teams. After graduating, he covered Coastal Carolina for the Myrtle Beach Sun News.
SOUTHEAST
The Tennessean — Hired Josh Cooper, formerly of Decatur Daily, as the Nashville Predators beat writer.
GREAT LAKES
Bloomington (Ind.) Herald-Times — Promoted Pat Beane to sports editor, replacing Chris Korman. Beane, previously the assistant sports editor, has been handling the night operations on the desk and will continue that in his new role. … Andy Graham will return to sports from the news department. Graham, who worked in the sports department previously, will be the No. 2 man for Indiana football and will write columns. He will also cover high school boys basketball in the winter. … Hugh Kellenberger will take over as the No. 2 writer on IU basketball while also remaining as the high school football beat writer.
GREAT PLAINS
St. Joseph (Mo.) News-Press — Promoted Ross Martin to sports editor, succeeding Scott Pummell. Martin has been with the News-Press for more than seven years, and has been the assistant sports editor since 2006. Pummell left to attend law school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
SOUTHWEST
Beaumont (Texas) Enterprise — Hired Jon Styf from the Green Bay Press-Gazette to become sports editor. Styf is the former sports editor at the Daily Chronicle in DeKalb, Ill. He replaces Dave Wilson, who took the position as a Page 2 editor for ESPN.com in Bristol, Conn.
San Angelo (Texas) Standard-Times — Promoted Nathan Wright to sports editor. Wright, who once spent his Friday nights taking calls for the paper as correspondents phoned in high school football results, had been the assistant sports editor. He led the production of the paper’s 116-page football section, “Decade of Memories.”
NORTHWEST
Seattle Times — Hired Patrick Okocha and Michael Baldwin as part-time news assistants to take high school results. … Meghan Peters left her internship as a sports online producer to take a position in New York.
Lewiston (Idaho) Tribune — Hired Dana Strong as a full-time sports writer. He replaces Jesse Baumgartner, who left for a political internship. Strong joined the Tribune as a part-timer in the fall of 2009.
Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.) — Michael Stevens began a 12-month copy desk internship. He is a recent graduate from Eastern Washington University.
