ABC-7 sports director position

KVIA is a first-place ABC affiliate in the sunny Southwest. We seek an experienced, articulate sports director who knows how to sniff out and tell a great story and can multitask during stressful situations.

The sports director at KVIA should be someone who has the skills typically acquired after a couple of years in the business, and the knowledge of journalistic principles typically found in someone with a bachelor’s degree. You should also expect a full multimedia experience: you’ll have to pick up a camera and shoot, edit, interact with our Twitter/Facebook followers plus be responsible for the sports section at www.kvia.com.

And here’s the best (or worst) part: the general manager, the managing editor, the news operations manager and our main anchor are all former sportscasters (see a pattern?). The general manager is a sports nut and still shoots sideline video at college football games. Expect constant critique and oversight.

We cover two NCAA Division I universities -UTEP and NMSU- and we don’t hesitate to lead our newscasts with sports when something big is going on. We often follow local teams to regional meets, the NCAA tournament and a bowl game if either college can produce a winner. El Paso has a brand new Triple-A baseball team and new stadium – have you heard of the El Paso Chihuahuas? They`ve made national news! The sports scene here is vibrant. El Paso is the 19th largest city in the country. We host the annual Sun Bowl each December. We also cover about 40 high schools and produce the Borderland Blitz, a 30-minute Friday night high school football show. This really is a premium job for a mid-market station.

Because we invest so many resources in sports, we want a commitment that you will stay a minimum of three years with us, four years preferred. The ability to speak Spanish is not a requirement, but it could give you an edge in story development since it’s the primary language of many of the people you would be covering.

Please send a link of your work, along with a resume, salary requirement (this is really important because it shows you`ve researched the market) and a cover letter that tells me why I should pick you over everyone else. My address is andkvia@yahoo.com.

Good luck!
Brenda De Anda-Swann
KVIA-TV News Director