High School Sports Reporter

Hearst • Austin, TX

9d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Austin American-Statesman’s high school sports reporters are versatile and high-impact journalists. Intense intention is paid to football, softball, baseball and basketball, with an emphasis on storytelling, breaking news and responding to reader interests. This position is expected to cover games, break news, file FOIA requests to uncover the inner workings of the UIL and tell stories of the children and families that make Central Texas sports special.

Requirements

• The successful candidate will have experience and be comfortable covering a range of sports from track to basketball to softball.
• Understanding of UIL transfer rules and familiarity with high school-college recruiting
• Ability to obtain public records and source-build within the high school sports community.
• Time management skills, multitasking skills and prioritization skills under tight deadlines and communication skills will be paramount.
• 3 or more years professional experience covering athletics
• Experience working with video and with SEO.
• Experience working with data sets and data visualization.
• Strong ability to use social media and KPIs to guide decision-making on story ideas and beat coverage
• Familiarity with a range of sports and the ability to pinch-hit on certain beats with little notice

Responsibilities

• Help cover Texas high school sports with a focus on football, basketball and baseball, but helping in other sports areas as well
• Take lead on enterprise topics and public records reporting related to the UIL. We expect novel reporting (either document dives or features) to come monthly in this role.
• Monitor UIL violations and recruiting news for the dozens of schools in Central Texas. This means sourcing up coaches and families
• Mesh on-court success/happenings with off-court developments (NIL, eligibility rules, coaches' compensation, etc.)
• Provide rankings lists for the area’s top teams and players in different sports
• Write high-interest trending briefs when they arise
• Organize and send out weekly high school newsletter
• Shoot video and appear on camera for social media videos and other off-platform content; help build alternative story formats using our menu of options.
• Track metrics to ensure we’re putting our efforts into areas that engage with the audience.

What This Job Offers

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