Albany Herald Sports Editor is back where he belongs

ALBANY — Like most people, Joe Whitfield’s adult life has included any number of moves and job changes. But, finally, Whitfield is where he belongs.

Born in Pelham, Whitfield lived “all over the place” growing up, his father’s vocation as a school principal taking the family to various locales throughout the South.

Whitfield, who now is in his second tenure as Sports Editor of The Albany Herald, said all of the careers he took on in his life — photographer, newspaper general manager, construction manager, restaurant manager and, most recently, middle school teacher — all played parts in getting him to where “I’m doing what I’m supposed to do.”

“Growing up, I had two loves: basketball and writing,” Whitfield said. “I used to play games, then come home and write stories about the games. I’ve always loved sports writing; it’s what I’ve always wanted to do.”

When The Herald cut its full-time Sports position during a reduction in force just before COVID hit, Whitfield, who’d held the position for three years, landed a job teaching at C.A. Gray Junior High in Moultrie. Eventually, though, with the love for sports still coursing through his veins, Whitfield was enticed into rejoining the newspaper on a part-time basis. He masterfully juggled his two positions, dashing home from a day in the classroom to cover a game later that night.

When the Georgia Trust for Local News took over ownership of The Herald a year ago, paper President Scot Morrissey made coaxing Whitfield back a priority. As the name of the collective implies, Morrissey’s intent was to increase local sports coverage.

“What we’re doing at The Herald now is why I got into sports writing,” Whitfield said. “I want to focus on our local athletes, do more to highlight our local schools. One of the best things about this job is watching these kids develop as athletes, seeing them getting better and growing.

“I think we’ve been doing a decent job of covering local sports, but I want to be more accessible, more available, find more of the things that are special in our region.”

To that end, one of the projects Whitfield has begun to work on is a football “tab” that will preview the coming season. The newspaper supplement will feature photographs, season previews and features on the high school teams in metro Albany.

“(Doing a football tab) was always one of the things I looked forward to,” Whitfield said. “It’s a lot of work — and I have to rely on cooperation from the coaches in the area — but it’s also a lot of fun. It’s something I think the athletes, the coaches and the schools’ fans have always enjoyed.”

Coaches and would-be sponsors of the special section are encouraged to reach out to Whitfield at [email protected] or call (229) 443-5320. (Interested sponsors or advertisers can reach out to [email protected].)

Whitfield, meanwhile, is in his element as he goes from school to school, talking with coaches and meeting some of the athletes he writes about.

“I intend to cover every football game I possibly can,” he said. “If there are two big games in the city — say Deerfield and Westover playing on the same night — I’ll cover a half of one game and a half of the other. I love it that we’ll have Thursday, Friday and Saturday games here in Albany.

“There are so many things I love about this job. I loved covering Lee County’s state championship runs, and I love working with coaches who go out of their way to be accessible, like the coaches at Sherwood and Deerfield, Coach (Dean) Fabrizio and the Joyners (Corey and Uyl).”

Whitfield offers a promise to the coaches and athletes in the region.

“I know you can go to any number of places now to get the scores of the games,” he said. “But there’s nowhere else you can go where you get all the kids’ names and accomplishments. What we’re going to offer is much more than just the scores.”