Sports Reporter
Req #24957
Our current portfolio of media assets includes USA TODAY, local media organizations in 46 states in the U.S., and Newsquest, a wholly owned subsidiary operating in the United Kingdom with more than 120 local news media brands. Gannett also owns the digital marketing services companies ReachLocal, Inc., UpCurve, Inc., and WordStream, Inc., which are marketed under the LOCALiQ brand, and runs the largest media-owned events business in the U.S., USA TODAY NETWORK Ventures.
To connect with us, visit www.gannett.com.
Sports Reporter
The St. Cloud Times/sctimes.com, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK, is looking for a reader-focused sports reporter with expertise in storytelling on all platforms.
We are a digital-first newsroom with a new office in downtown St. Cloud (just a few blocks from the Mississippi River) where your co-workers are dedicated and committed to experimentation, teamwork and serving our community in a changing industry.
We have proven success in delivering nationally award-winning journalism, and we use audience metrics to help guide our coverage. We want to help make you better, and we want you to help us do the same.
We have an immediate opening for a sports reporter who can uncover the important, interesting and entertaining stories in our region. While you need to know your way around a stat sheet, most of your effort will be covering stories that happen before or after the buzzer sounds.
You'll focus on coverage of prep sports - our key sports beat - in and around Central Minnesota's metro hub. You will also cover NCAA Division I hockey at St. Cloud State University and some small college, minor league, semipro and recreational sports.
This reporter should be comfortable taking photos, producing video, using social media and other digital tools to present news in unique ways. This reporter will use metrics to understand what’s resonating with readers and to shape coverage.
Responsibilities:
- Creates storytelling that accurately informs, entertains, and engages specific audiences and platforms using metrics.
- Works toward becoming the community’s leading voice in area of expertise.
- Serve as a public ambassador for our brand through community outreach and connect with readers through social media.
- Provides thoughtful analysis of complex issues.
- Promotes personal brand, the brands of colleagues and the institutional brand.
- Provides great customer service, helping readers find answers and solutions.
- Report quickly, clearly and accurately and deliver news, via stories, video, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other methods available to reach our audience.
- Use metrics to inform story choices and shape beat strategies.
- Cultivates a beat, knowing the ins/outs of the beat and its key players. Has a genuine interest in people and ability to build trust.
- Writes and/or produces multimedia content that appeals to key audience targets and maximizes user experience on digital and social platforms to reach readers where they spend their time and attention.
- Engage on social media with sources and audience.
- Experiment with new ways of informing and engaging audiences on social platforms and alternate storyforms.
Requirements:
- Bachelor's or master’s degree in communications, journalism, marketing, or related field preferred or equivalent combination of education and experience.1-3 years of journalism experience preferred (although we'll consider stellar new graduates for this role), excellent grammar and writing skills and visual storytelling competency.
- Minimum of 1-2 years’ reporting/newsroom experience.
- Adept at taking photos and video and will file quickly across platforms: mobile, desktop and social media.
- Strong command of AP grammar and style.
- Strong copy-editing skills and the ability to produce content that is clean, accurate and "publication ready."
- Is passionate and enthusiastic about news and content that will work well with audiences on social platforms.
- Comfortable in fluid, fast-breaking, stressful situations.
- A desire to grow and develop a key beat in our newsroom.
- Is comfortable using social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat to enhance reporting and promote stories.
- Understands reporting ethics and sourcing.
- Excels in a fast-paced news environment and understands the digital first mission.
- Collaborates well with others and can work with a team on the biggest stories.
- This role requires a valid driver’s license, reliable transportation, and the minimum liability insurance required by state law.
- Employment is contingent on passing a post-offer pre-employment background check, motor vehicle record check & drug screen.
We are eager to learn more about you and how you fit this role. When you apply, don’t limit your upload to a resume; show us what you’ve done. To do so, put together a single document file that includes the following, in this order:
1. Your resume – one to two pages.
2. A cover letter that outlines how you would approach the job.
3. Links to 3-6 online samples of your work. Show us what you’ve produced or had a hand in that best reflects what you can do in your desired role.
It is important that these items be assembled into a single document and uploaded in PDF format. Completing these steps will ensure that your application receives the highest consideration.
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Other details
- Job Family Frontline Journalists
- Job Function Consumer
- Pay Type Hourly
- Required Education Equivalent Experience