Land-Grant Holy Land is looking for unique, funny, insightful writers to join the team

Land-Grant Holy Land is looking to add a handful of new contributors to our one-of-a-kind (for better or for worse) Ohio State athletics coverage.

The ideal candidates would have a distinct voice and perspective, and the more out of the box the better. Buckeye fans are fortunate to have a veritable smorgasbord of websites and newspapers covering their favorite teams, but that means that a lot of talented people are already writing the standard/traditional types of sports stories.

So here at LGHL, we want to find folks who look at OSU sports differently than the traditional beat writers. We want folks who think about sports in different ways, who can infuse their Buckeye coverage with humor and unusual context, and are willing to intelligently discuss what is going on both on and off the various fields and courts that OSU plays on.

Everyone at Land-Grant Holy Land is a diehard Ohio State fan, that’s basically a job requirement, but we pride ourselves on being able to write and talk about Buckeye sports objectively.

If this sounds like you, check out the information below and apply to join our team.

Requirements

Applicants should have exceptional writing skills and experience writing news stories, columns, op-eds, blogs, or working in other short-form styles. They should also be able to regularly generate unique article ideas that can’t be found anywhere else in the OSU Blogosphere.

Contributors must be able to commit to working on a set schedule and turn in articles on deadline. They should also be willing and able to work on site-wide projects and initiatives.

Even for contributors who focus on a specific sport(s), these positions are year-round and article requirements apply both in season and out. However, the LGHL editors are flexible and willing to work around specific circumstances.

Job Specifics

LGHL contracts are based on a specific number of articles per week. These articles will be regularly scheduled and should be submitted for editing in advance. The specific number of pieces per week can be negotiated, based on interest and availability.

All positions are freelance, independent contractors and are paid. Total compensation will be based on the contributor’s experience, submitted materials, and the weekly article commitment.

Additionally, all positions are remote, and candidates do not need to be based in the Central Ohio area.

LGHL is an equal opportunity employer, and we highly encourage candidates of all races, ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, and gender identities to apply.

Application Process

Interested candidates should email LGHL’s co-managing editor Matt Tamanini ([email protected]) and put LGHL Application in the subject line.

Applicants should include:

– Cover letter explaining why candidate is interested in joining LGHL, what unique qualities they will bring to the site, and what position(s) listed below they are most interested in.
– Resume
– Two or three writing samples that show ability to fill one (or more) of the roles listed in the “Positions” section below. Not all writing samples need to be about sports, but there should be at least one sample that focuses on sports.

Positions

Listed below are the positions that we are currently hoping to fill. However, if there is something that is not listed that you would be interested in doing for the site, we would love to hear your ideas. The more creative and unique the better.

While these are broken down into multiple positions, if one candidate is interested in — and capable of — filling multiple roles, please indicate that in your cover letter.

Recruiting Analyst

We are looking for someone who can write about Ohio State football and men’s basketball recruiting — and if you can throw in some expertise on women’s basketball or any other Buckeye sports, that would be a bonus.

We already have a daily column — State Secrets — rounding up all of the biggest recruiting news from the past day. This contributor would be writing articles quite different than those pieces. This position would be focused on analyzing OSU’s recruiting needs/offers/commitments, breaking down prospects’ film, interviewing recruits, analyzing recruiting in the B1G and nationally, and explaining recruiting to Buckeye fans who don’t normally following recruiting.

The person filling this role would also be part of a weekly recruiting podcast. The recruiting contributor would work with our recruiting editor to pre-write commitment pieces for major football and men’s basketball prospects.

Columnist

We are looking for writers with unique voices and insights into Ohio State athletics and college sports in general. The goal would be for this columnist to write articles that are unlike anything found on other OSU sites. What we are looking for is someone who can turn out regular content that is fresh, exciting, entertaining, and a must-read for Buckeye fans.

However, we are not looking for individuals to fire off hot takes just for the sake of having hot takes. We want contributors who have strong opinions and can explain them intelligently, clearly, and respectfully (except if they’re talking about Michigan, Penn State, or Dabo Swinney; screw those guys).

A few vague, non-exhaustive examples of the types of things that we would like to see from contributors are:

– Humorous, weird, silly features
– Thought out, informed, responsible, nuanced opinion pieces
– Xs and Os film breakdown
– College sports business and law

Sport-Specific Expert

If you are an expert about a specific Ohio State team or college sport in general, we would like to add your insight to our coverage. This could be regular features about the team(s), game recaps, columns, etc.

We would be open to just about any of OSU’s varsity sports, but primarily we would be interested in men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s hockey, wrestling, men’s and women’s volleyball, baseball, and softball.

Podcaster

Over the years, LGHL has had a lot of great folks in our podcast feed. We are looking for the next slate of great LGHL podcasters. Candidates do not necessarily need to have podcasting experience, but it would be helpful. We can train folks on how to record, but if applicants already have the ability to edit audio, that would be a tremendous bonus.

We are looking for hosts to join existing shows and to create news shows with unique focuses.

Ideally, the individuals that fill any of the writing positions above would also be able to add to our podcasting lineup. We would be looking for individuals who can commit to a regular podcasting schedule; this would most likely be weekly, but is flexible depending on situation.

Editor

This would be an additional role on top of a contributor’s writing responsibilities. The individual would aid the co-managing editors in proofreading content and helping generate content ideas.

The ideal candidate should have experience editing pieces either in a journalistic, professional, or academic capacity