Breaking News Reporter
The San Luis Obispo Tribune is looking for an energetic, versatile journalist who thrives on fast-paced breaking news and can quickly and accurately report live stories using video, social and other digital tools. As a breaking news reporter, you will cover daily stories that are relevant to our Central Coast readers, including in the areas of public safety, transportation, local business and weather events. You’ll also tackle trending stories, developing strong follow-ups that enlighten and engage readers, hold officials accountable and identify patterns and trends. The best enterprise often comes from the breaking beat, and the successful breaking reporter knows this. We’re looking for a self-paced reporter who can spot and report stories without waiting for the assignment, who can quickly aggregate content from various locations, and who can cultivate reliable sources.
The importance of headlines, SEO and lead images cannot be underestimated, and you know this. You will understand how to grow readership because you’ve studied performance of your stories in the digital space, using analytics tools such as Chartbeat or Parse.ly, and made adjustments accordingly.
This reporter will work an early-morning shift, possibly Sunday to Thursday, and will begin by scanning for stories to pick up from overnight before focusing on breaking news throughout the day. Even though turning news fast is the focus of this job, we do look for opportunities for this reporter to tackle more in-depth stories.
San Luis Obispo is located in the heart of California’s Central Coast, close to beaches, wine country, Hearst Castle and Cal Poly. With great year-round weather and a wide variety of activities, it’s a haven for active people who love the outdoors. SLO was once labeled the happiest city in America.
Minimum requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree in journalism or relevant field
- At least two years of professional journalism experience preferred, but recent college graduates will be considered.
- Strong writing and reporting skills and excellent news judgment.
- Unwavering commitment to accurate, ethical journalism
- Demonstrated ability to use social media platforms to reach and engage with audiences
- Demonstrated ability to access and analyze public records, including campaign finance data, court records, property records and salary information
- Demonstrated ability to tell stories using a variety of tools and platforms, including capturing and editing video and data/graphics
- Demonstrated ability to learn new skills and technologies, including content management systems; social media platforms; video editing software; analytics tools; and emerging storytelling tools and platforms
- Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to take and give constructive criticism. New workflows require constant conversations between reporters and editors and between reporters and their audience as a story evolves
- Demonstrated ability to work comfortably in a job that will be fast-paced, data-driven, shaped constantly by feedback and experimentation and always evolving.