Sports Reporter job

The Bucyrus Telegrah-Forum is looking for a sports reporter who is interested in doing more than daily game coverage. The right person will know how to carve great daily stories and in-depth enterprise projects from a handful of community sports beats – high school as well as college. Game coverage is a given – so we want someone whose skills as a storyteller will keep readers informed as well as entertained. You will be part of an aggressive news team with a priority of developing watchdog news stories – as both the Telegraph-Forum and the very lively BucyrusTelegraphForum.com continue efforts to best serve the community and stay ahead of the competition.

Bucyrus is a great news community of about 20,000 located in the Heart of Ohio. Owned by Gannett, the Telegraph-Forum is partnered with the Mansfield News Journal, the largest of the 10-member Media Network of Central Ohio. An ambitious reporter with good planning and writing skills will have ample opportunities to work on joint projects with our sister sites and to see his or her bylines published across the state.

Required qualifications: A bachelor’s degree in journalism or equivalent; newsroom experience; must be committed to online reporting; experience working from an advanced planning budget; have understanding of AP style, good usage and spelling, and a clean writing style that engages readers. We pay competitive wages and offer a comprehensive benefits package.

A pre-employment background check is required. Send your resume, salary expectations and samples of your work to David Kennard, at e-mail dkennard@gannett.com. (E-mails should include candidate’s name in the subject field.) No phone calls please. Gannett is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

U B da editaur!

The Board of Trustees unanimously approved a pay raise and bonus for President E. Gordon Gee when they gathered Wednesday afternoon in the Ohio Union. Gee is donating back the bonus, contributing nearly $300,000 to university funds.

While economic downturn continues to limit pay increases for public-university leaders across the country, OSU’s Board still rewards top talent. “Members were consistently impressed with the President’s brilliant, inspiring, charismatic, and visionary leadership,” said Alex Shumate, chair of the committee of trusteeship for the Board.

Gee maintains his position as the highest paid public-university president in the United States. As a result of the evaluation process, he receives a 2 percent salary increase. Gee also received a 37 percent bonus for achieving target-level performance.

In presenting the evaluation, the Board highlighted such accomplishments as improved retention and graduation rates, an increase in research funding, opening the university’s China Gateway office in Shanghai, and streamlining financial processes.

“It is clear, based on President Gee’s achievements against the University’s strategic objectives, that he merits a maximum bonus for exceeding target performance,” Shumate said, “Without a doubt, we would unanimously choose him again as our President.”

Alex Swain, the undergraduate student on the Board of Trustees, echoed Shumate’s commentary.

“In times of uncertainty, Dr. Gee’s leadership and experience have provided the university with needed certainty,” Swain said in a prepared statement, “He is truly the best at what he does and we are lucky to have him here.”

Ohio taxpayers and student tuition dollars are not used to pay for Gee’s bonus, as it is funded through private giving

Gee’s 2008-2009 base salary was $802,125, while his total compensation package was nearly $1.6 million, according to a Chronicle of Higher Education survey. His salary includes deferred compensation, retirement pay, and a supplemental retirement plan. He receives a house from private sources and a car provided by the state.

In 2009, Gee was eligible for a bonus of $200,531. He forfeited the raise and instead donated the funds to the E. Gordon Gee Ohio State Scholarship Fund. Last year he also declined a 2.5 percent pay raise and donated $20,053 to the Students First, Students Now scholarship fund.

Gee said that he intends to contribute his bonus funds to his own scholarship fund, as well as to other strategic university initiatives. Before making the announcement Wednesday, Board members were not sure what Gee had decided to do with the expected raise.

Swain said she felt thankful due to the surprise of the donation.

“On behalf of all students, I would like to express my deepest gratitude for Dr. Gee’s generosity,” she said.

In expressing thankfulness, Gee said that announcing his decision was a joyful moment.

“I get such great joy from giving back to the students,” he said, “This is a great moment”.

Chicago Sun-Times Internship

The Chicago Sun-Times is pleased to offer a minority college student or recent minority college graduate the opportunity to spend the summer working at in the Sun-Times newsroom. The paid 10-week internship is a wonderful opportunity for budding journalists to experience the hustle and bustle and excitement of a big city newsroom. To be eligible, applicants must be a junior, senior, graduate student or recent graduate. Applications must be postmarked by March 11, 2011. To learn more about the internship, contact Chicago Headline Club board member Rummana Hussain at rhussain@suntimes.com.