Andi Petrini has done a little of everything in her time at the Daily Press in Newport News, Va. And each of those many responsibilities have helped her on her "journey to becoming sports editor."
Petrini was recently named the sports editor of the Daily Press and will oversee the print, digital, mobile and social media efforts of the department and work with a staff of six award-winning, veteran writers and an online producer.
She succeeds Nick Matthews, who was named online sports editor of the Houston Chronicle in February.
Petrini came to the Daily Press in March 2005 as a copy editor and designer for the sports desk and picked up web-producing duties along the way. She credits previous sports editors with letting her supervise the section at night on the production end and helping her augment necessary skills that will help her in her new role.
"I also was able to build relationships with the reporting staff, which has greatly helped me in preparing to be sports editor," she said. "As we transitioned to a universal desk, and then as the Daily Press starting sharing desk responsibilities with the staff in Chicago, the challenges grew. Communication, leadership and a diverse skill set were necessary to the job – and greatly benefitted me in my journey to becoming sports editor."
Petrini says she is looking forward to boosting the section's digital presence while keeping the print product "relevant and interesting."
"The challenge is finding ways to also use digital tools in the storytelling process without losing sight of what we’re all about: finding compelling stories and telling them well," she said. "It’s also using all of the forms of communication at our disposal – blogs, Twitter, Facebook, apps etc., to inform our audience while maintaining a standard and not sacrificing quality. These are the challenges that excite me."
She said the staff has embraced whatever might come next.
"I’ve lucked out with the staff I get to work with," she said. "Such a talented group of hard-working people is a privilege to lead. I’m also lucky that this veteran group is willing to dive into the unknown with me."
Before working at the Daily Press, she was the community editor at the Independent Tribune in Concord, N.C., where she was a features department of one and oversaw the internship program. While there, she secured an ASNE grant for a local high school’s newspaper program. The grant helped them buy supplies and I provided in-classroom assistance.
Petrini is a 2003 graduate from Elon University in North Carolina and is originally from Vineland, N.J.
Seimas moves to ASE in Santa Cruz
When opportunities to move from writer to editor presented themselves to Jim Seimas at the Santa Cruz (Calif.) Sentinel, he had always said his heart was in writing.
As the senior member of the sports staff with 12 years at the paper and with multiple APSE writing awards, Seimas has decided the time is right to move to editing. Seimas was recently promoted to assistant sports editor at the Sentinel.
"I told them it was the next stage of my career," he said. "Going to recent APSE conventions really got my creative juices flowing … The thing I love about the Santa Cruz Sentinel is we cover 10 high schools and two colleges and it still has a major community feel … I felt like it was time to move into the editor role. I felt like I was versed in what the job entails and would be able to get it done effectively. My responsibilities will change, and it will all be for the better."
As for his goals, Seimas went back to his writing roots — telling good stories and getting the community to "open up and share their stories with us." He cited more enterprise and in-depth pieces.
"There are so many stories that can be told," he said. "With a new philosophy, new training techniques and more enterprise reporting, hopefully, we have the time and resources to get those sorts of stories done as we push forward with online as well.”
Graham to ESPN.com
Larry Graham has left the Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer to join ESPN.com as a general editor for NFL coverage. Graham begins his new role Aug. 22.
He had been in Fayetteville since last fall. He previously worked as assistant sports editor at ThisWeek Community Newspapers in Columbus, Ohio; preps copy editor and page designer at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; sports editor at the Lima News; assistant sports editor at the Oshkosh (Wis.) Northwestern, sports reporter at the Lee’s Summit Journal and preps reporter at the Kansas City Star.
Assistant sports editor Thomas Pope and managing editor Mike Adams are currently running the sports department in Fayetteville.
SOUTHEAST
Naples (Fla.) Daily News: Nick Krueger, a sports multimedia journalist with a focus on video, has
left the Daily News to become a video producer for Rivals.com. Nick started at the Daily News as a clerk several years ago, and progressed all the way up to an award-winning videographer.
Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger: Richard Mullins has joined the staff as a designer. He worked the last two years at the Gannett Louisiana design center in Monroe, La. He replaces Dustin Frucci, who went to the St. Pete Times. Joe Powell was laid off in June after 28 years as a reporter and copy editor with the Clarion-Ledger.
left the Daily News to become a video producer for Rivals.com. Nick started at the Daily News as a clerk several years ago, and progressed all the way up to an award-winning videographer.
Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger: Richard Mullins has joined the staff as a designer. He worked the last two years at the Gannett Louisiana design center in Monroe, La. He replaces Dustin Frucci, who went to the St. Pete Times. Joe Powell was laid off in June after 28 years as a reporter and copy editor with the Clarion-Ledger.
Nashville (Tenn.) Tennessean: Layoffs claimed two members of the staff from the Tennessean. Joe
Biddle, who had been with the paper as a columnist since the Nashville Banner closed in Feb. of 1998, and Bryan Mullen, who had been with the paper for seven years.
Biddle, who had been with the paper as a columnist since the Nashville Banner closed in Feb. of 1998, and Bryan Mullen, who had been with the paper for seven years.
South Florida Sun Sentinel: Hire Dieter Kurtenbach to cover high schools and local sports.
GREAT LAKES
Times of Northwest Indiana (Munster, Ind.): Courtney Linehan, sports editor of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, has been named the sports editor of the Times of Northwest Indiana and nwi.com.
GREAT PLAINS
The Oklahoman: The Oklahoman filled two major beats just in time for the start of college football season. Joining the paper are Travis Haney to cover the University of Oklahoma, and Gina Mizell to cover Oklahoma State. Haney covered South Carolina and the SEC for the Post and Courier in Charleston, S.C. He had also worked for The Independent Mail in Anderson, S.C., and the Augsta Chronicle in Georgia. Mizell comes to the Oklahoman from the Beaumont (Texas) Enterprise, where she covered Lamar University and high school sports. She also had worked in San Diego for mlb.com, covering the Padres.
The Oklahoman also revamped its high school coverage team with Jason Kersey, Ryan Aber and Scott Wright taking lead roles. Kersey, at the paper since 2006, had been working the copy desk and coordinating Thunder coverage. Aber returns to high schools, which he covered from 2006-10, after a year covering minor league baseball and hockey. Wright has covered Oklahoma State football and OU basketball along with high school sports since 2009.
NORTHWEST
Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune: Charlynn Schmiedt returned in June as a sports copy editor. Schmiedt previously worked at the Tribune as a page designer.
Ellensburg (Wash.) Daily Record: Hired Josh Petrie to cover Central Washington University sports along with preps and recreational sports. Petrie previously worked at the Herald & News in Klamath Falls, Ore.
Grants Pass (Ore.) Daily Courier: Added sports writer Ben Maki. Maki comes to the Courier from the Odessa (Texas) American. He takes the place of Larry Cathey, who is staying in the region and debuting Southern Oregon Preps magazine in September.
Spokane Spokesman-Review: Michael Stephens, a sports desk intern for the past 10 months at The Spokesman-Review, was given a permanent position as a designer for the sports department. Stephens, 29, has an English and criminal justice degree from Washington State University and a journalism degree from Eastern Washington University.
