MorganHillTimes.com | Sports Editor Looks to Continue Tradition of Local Coverage

Sports Editor Looks to Continue Tradition of Local Coverage

Jul 17, 2007
By - Staff Writer

Morgan Hill - Around the office at the Morgan Hill Times, sports editor Paul Doherty is usually seen concentrating on his sports writing in front of his computer monitor until a sports topic comes up.

That's when the 6-foot-4 Hayward native can touch on almost any sport and talk your ear off about it.

That vast knowledge of all-things-athletic is what Doherty draws from to create the Times sports pages.

"It's been great interactting with the sports community in Morgan Hill," said the dark-haired and affable Doherty about his first month on the job. "I've been learning and getting more experience, and it's exciting to provide a sports outlet for the community."

Aside from being a die-hard sports fan, he was once a die-hard athlete.

As a standout athlete at Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward, he received all-league, all-East Bay and Most Improved honors during his senior year as tight-end for the football team.

He was also team MVP as a forward for his basketball team.

It is only fit that Doherty pursued a career in sports reporting.

It wasn't until after a football game where his team got a big win and Doherty played exceptionally well that he developed an interest in sports reporting.

He was interviewed after the game by the local newspaper, and thought reporting looked like an interesting profession.

"It was a special feeling to be singled-out for my performance," Doherty said.

After high school, he took his interest in journalism and his sports background to Chico State University and wrote for The Orion, the school's weekly newspaper.

Though he found a new passion for writing, Doherty couldn't stay away from participating in sports.

He joined the school's rugby team his freshmen year and played against some of the nation's top teams like Stanford and the University of California-Berkeley.

"Rugby was really intense," Doherty said. "It was my first time playing a contact sport without pads and a lot of the guys were three or four years older than I was."

After dabbling in feature writing and rugby at Chico, Doherty went to the University of Hawaii, Manoa on a student exchange program.

In Hawaii he wrote features and editorials for the university's student-run weekly newspaper Ka Leo O Hawaii, also known as The Voice of Hawaii.

He took his exchange experience with him back to Chico and earned a bachelor of

arts degree in journalism in August 2005.

His professional work includes a position as a sports correspondent for the Daily Review (Hayward) with childhood friend and former Times sports editor Jimmy Durkin.

It was then, Doherty reported on the recovery of a youth from an East Bay junior varsity football team after brain surgery.

He reported the rehabilitation all the way up to his comeback game.

Doherty boasts this story as his favorite.

"Paul can relate to the kids he writes about," said Durkin. "He's been in their shoes. He's played both roles as the interviewer and the interviewee. He's passionate about sports and that's what makes him a good sports writer."

This past May, Durkin left Mainstreet Media Group, which publishes the Times, the Gilroy Dispatch and Hollister Freelance, for a writing position with the Contra Costa Times.

Durkin and Doherty's old childhood and professional ties crossed paths again earlier this year when the two sports fanatics ran into each other in the Oracle Arena parking lot at a Warrior's playoff game in Oakland.

"I was walking in the parking lot until I heard someone yell out, Jimmy Durkin," Durkin said. "I turned around and there was Paul."

Durkin told Doherty about the open sports editor position at the Times and Doherty pursued.

"Paul has a good grasp of what makes an exciting sports section. He cares deeply about high school sports coverage, which is a must-have for our subscribers, and he has shown to have all the skills needed to make beautiful sports pages.

"Paul's friendly, open to ideas from coaches, players, parents, and wants to develop relationships with these important sports sources to get the best information possible for our readers," Morgan Hill Times Editor Sheila Sanchez said.

"I'm so excited for the future of our sports pages. I know as Paul gets more settled in he will continue to find the most interesting, moving and relevant stories for our readers. One thing I guarantee is that we won't be reading boring sports stories under Paul's tenure. The stories he's covered recently have shown to be top-shelf sports stories that clearly reflect his experience covering prep sports for the Daily Review.

"Paul will continue to grow as sports editor here at the Times thanks to his hard work and diligence. Our goal is to be the best source of local sports news for Morgan Hill readers," Sanchez said. "We'll continue to find ways to connect with readers of the sports pages by allowing them to tell us what they think of our product. "

With the Times, Doherty has covered a number of sports stories in the Morgan Hill community and has offered his own insight on several sports topics in his weekly sports column "Sports Buzz."

For now, Doherty wants to take his experience as the top sports dog in Morgan Hill and make the sports section of the Times more interesting.

"I want to see the readership grow," Doherty said. "And I want to grow with it."

Paul welcomes any and all feedback and story ideas, and can be reached at: (408) 779-4106 ext. 203 or at

pdoherty@morganhilltimes.com