AI & Marketing Technology Reporter

Crain Communications•Chicago, NY

9d•Hybrid

About The Position

Ad Age is seeking an ambitious reporter to cover how marketers are making technology decisions as artificial intelligence, digital platforms and changing consumer behavior reshape the business of marketing. This reporter will focus on the decisions marketers and agencies are making now: how brands are using AI, how consumers are discovering and buying products, how technology is reshaping advertising and agency operations, and how major platforms are changing the ways marketers reach audiences. The ideal candidate will move beyond product announcements and incremental technology news to report stories that provide original information, practical guidance, and meaningful accountability. This includes deeply reported brand and agency case studies, clear explanations of complex developments, platform coverage with direct consequences for marketers, and stories built on documents, data, and strong sourcing. This position reports to Ad Age’s senior editor overseeing technology coverage and will work closely with reporters and editors covering brands, agencies, media, creators, and creativity.

Requirements

At least five years of professional reporting experience, preferably covering artificial intelligence, digital advertising, search, commerce, enterprise technology, or major platforms.
A demonstrated ability to develop sources and generate original story ideas.
Strong news judgment and the ability to distinguish meaningful developments from industry hype.
Experience explaining complicated subjects clearly without oversimplifying them.
An interest in how technology affects business decisions, organizations, workers, and consumers.
The ability to report both timely news and more ambitious enterprise or service journalism.
Comfort working with data, research, corporate documents, and regulatory materials.
Strong interviewing, writing, and organizational skills.
Experience using—or an interest in experimenting with—AI tools as part of the reporting process, paired with strong editorial judgment and a commitment to accuracy.
The ability to work independently while contributing to a collaborative newsroom.
Curiosity, skepticism, and a willingness to ask companies for evidence behind their claims.

Responsibilities

Break news and develop original stories through sustained sourcing across brands, agencies, platforms, technology companies, and vendors.
Produce deeply reported stories that reveal how companies are using technology, including the tools selected, investments made, problems encountered, and results achieved.
Create authoritative guides and explanatory journalism that answer specific questions for marketers.
Find and report from documents, contracts, research, regulatory materials, and internal communications.
Identify consequential developments within a crowded AI and technology news cycle while avoiding coverage that merely repeats widely available announcements.
Translate complex subjects into clear, precise journalism for marketing executives and industry professionals.
Use data and outside research to strengthen reporting and provide readers with useful context.
Develop recurring areas of expertise and update important evergreen coverage as technology and industry practices change.
Identify opportunities to turn reporting into recurring coverage, proprietary datasets, trackers, guides, and other Ad Age Intelligence products.
Contribute to newsletters, events, reports, trackers, and other Ad Age editorial products when the subject warrants.
Collaborate with audience, data, visual, and social teams to determine the most effective way to present and distribute the work.
Work across newsroom beats when technology intersects with brands, agencies, creators, media, and creativity.