Service Journalism Reporter
The News-Democrat is looking for a collaborative, audience-focused reporter for our service journalism team, whose mission is to help readers navigate life in Belleville and southwestern Illinois. These reporters will use engagement tools such as Google Trends to surface and answer questions readers are asking in the moment, will write stories that help readers connect with the news and will create and manage a library of search-friendly evergreen content.
Experience with audience growth and engagement tactics such as headline writing and SEO is a must. Expertise in a particular subject area is not required, but the successful candidate will bring a deep understanding of what’s important to local readers, preferably earned by working as part of an audience or engagement team at a local news outlet.
The reporters in this role will report to the Central regional service journalism editor.
Qualifications
- College degree preferred.
- At least 1 year of local news experience
- Reliable transportation.
- Valid driver’s license.
- Vehicle insurance required (at least minimum insurance required for the state in which the employee works).
- Experience with audience tools such as Google Trends.
- Ability to understand audience metrics and the tactics that move them.
- Passion for the written word as well as video, audio and motion graphics.
- Enthusiasm for experimenting and iterating, quickly and often.
- Strong writing and reporting skills.
- Excellent news judgment and journalism ethics.
- Strong collaborative instincts and a love of teamwork.
- Comfort with a job that will be demanding, fast-paced and constantly evolving.
- Data reporting experience and ability to work with data visualization tools.