Buffalo Bills Beat Reporter

Lee Enterprises • Buffalo, NY

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Buffalo News is seeking an experienced, digital-savvy journalist to cover the Buffalo Bills, one of the highest-profile beats in the NFL. The ideal candidate will be an aggressive reporter who can break news, provide analysis, and offer behind-the-scenes insights to expand the audience in Western New York and beyond. The Buffalo Bills have a large, passionate, and worldwide following, and The Buffalo News publishes extensive daily coverage of the team. The news organization has a strong history in NFL coverage, with multiple writers having served as president of the Pro Football Writers of America and numerous APSE Top 10 honors. The candidate will be adept at breaking news and storytelling across multiple platforms, comfortable working sources and covering games from the press box. The role involves identifying new content strategies to grow the subscriber base and overall audience. This position is part of a four-person team covering a high-profile franchise, especially relevant with the current team dynamics and a new stadium opening. A deep knowledge of football is essential, with previous NFL beat experience preferred, though strong experience on a major college or other pro beat will be considered.

Requirements

• Experienced, digital-savvy journalist
• Aggressive reporter
• Ability to break news
• Ability to provide analysis
• Ability to take readers behind the scenes
• Ability to break news and tell great stories across multiple platforms, often simultaneously
• Comfortable working sources
• Comfortable sitting in the press box covering the game
• Writing reflects ambition and enterprise
• Ability to identify new ways to make sure content grows subscriber base and overall audience
• Collaborative role on a four-person team
• Deep knowledge of football
• Proficiency in social media as a reporting and reader engagement tool
• Ability to write quickly, clearly and accurately on deadline
• Digital fluency
• Effective time management skills given multiple responsibilities and travel commitments

Nice To Haves

• Previous NFL beat experience
• Strong experience on a major college or other pro beat

Responsibilities

• Produce coverage that goes beyond press availability, establishing a unique voice on the beat.
• Develop sources and break news of all sorts on the Bills beat.
• Contribute to our podcasts and produce vertical video.
• Maintain consistent communication with editors and fellow staff members.
• Monitor data analytics to understand what our readers want.
• Be a strong storyteller who can report on the inner workings of the Bills organization and the rest of the NFL.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed