Adam Minichino, longtime sports editor for The Dispatch, has accepted a communications specialist position at Mississippi University for Women’s Public Affairs office.
His last day with The Dispatch will be Wednesday, and he will begin his new role at The W the following day.
Minichino joined The Dispatch staff as sports editor in June 2008. In addition to leading award-winning sports staffs, he has amassed plenty of his own writing accolades from the Mississippi Press Association during his tenure.
Scott Walters, who has worked under Minichino for eight years, is taking the sports editor reins.
“I want to thank Birney Imes for giving me the opportunity to work at The Dispatch,” Minichino said. “We talked about another position, but the interview turned into an audition for the sports editor position. I want to thank Henry Matuszak and Danny P. Smith, who were working at The Dispatch when I arrived, for helping me find my footing. Thanks, too, to all of the parents, correspondents, photographers, coaches, and co-workers who have helped us put out a sports section.
“Thanks to Peter Imes for continuing to give the sports section a strong voice and for his support of the department,” he added. “I thoroughly enjoyed working with so many great people at The Dispatch and in the greater Golden Triangle area. I am confident Scott Walters and the new additions to the sports department will continue to do a great job telling the stories of all of the wonderful people in our area.”
Minichino’s journalism career spans more than two decades, beginning with his graduation from the University of Connecticut in 1992. He “discovered” women’s basketball covering Geno Auriemma’s legendary Huskies programs as an undergraduate for the campus newspaper, and he worked stints as sports editor, news editor and designer at the weekly Cheshire Herald in Connecticut after college.
He briefly interrupted his newspaper career to try to become a professional baseball umpire at the Brinkman/Froemming School in Florida. When that didn’t work out, Minichino returned to Connecticut to work at The Middletown Press. He later worked at The Norwich Bulletin before moving to The Athens Banner-Herald in Athens, Georgia, and The Daily Commercial in Leesburg, Florida. At each stop, he continued to cover women’s college basketball, either at UConn, Georgia, Florida, or South Florida.
His wife is Amanda. They have one son, Austin, 11.
“For more than 10 years Adam has done an excellent job of giving hyper-local sports coverage to everything from individual athletes in obscure sports to championship collegiate teams,” Dispatch Publisher Peter Imes said. “He had his finger on the pulse of area sports. It was rare anyone was ever able to pass a sports tip on to him; every time we tried, we quickly found out he already knew about it and was on it. I wish him the best at the W.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.