Reporter

MediaNews Group • Irvine, CA

10d • $26 - $29

About The Position

The Southern California News Group is seeking an experienced reporter to join our Business team full-time, covering housing issues and real estate topics affecting millions of residents in the region. This is an especially critical beat in the wake of the recent wildfires in and around Los Angeles and the ongoing crisis in affordable housing throughout California. Housing availability, costs and legislative actions affect everyone who lives here and this is a topic that is particularly important to our news strategy. A good candidate for this position adeptly juggles daily beat coverage with ambitious enterprise and investigative reporting. While a main component of reporting on this beat is understanding trends and being able to render complex data points into clear and engaging storylines, the ability to identify and convey the lived experience of the Southern California housing market is also crucial. Candidates must be passionate about journalism, familiar with the region and comfortable scouring documents, sifting through reports, compiling data for charts and graphics and surfing social media for story tips and coverage ideas. If you can produce strong enterprise and breaking news for digital and print platforms, cultivate sources in person and digitally, and have a passion for the Fourth Estate, we want to talk to you. What you will do: Enterprise reporting, go out and interview the people affected, dig into the data behind it, and then craft a comprehensive story showing all sides Versatility is a must, as stories will cover a variety of topics Write often on deadline in a fast-paced environment Produce stories that are assigned, and pitch story ideas on a regular basis Research and develop stories to the utmost accuracy Cultivate sources both in person and via social media Understand and use company-provided hardware, software and cloud-based equipment and systems for company business and tasks Discuss stories throughout the process with the assignment editor, including (but not limited to): idea development, overcoming hurdles, editing, strategy for presentation and analytics Work with the photo and graphics teams to explore all the visual ways stories can be told or enhanced Collaborate with others throughout SCNG’s four-county footprint and beyond in a positive culture of teamwork Out-of-town travel is unlikely, but there will be a need to drive around Southern California

Requirements

• Strong news judgment and a drive to compete
• Ability to write clean, concise copy that draws readers in, including nut graphs and online headlines for SEO
• The skill to mine human sources, documents and data, including a facility for mining public records
• The ability to juggle multiple stories of varying complexity, from quick news posts under deadline pressure to daily news stories and longer-term enterprise
• Proficiency at using the web and social media to report stories and to share them
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience required
• At least five years of professional journalism experience preferred
• Must possess and maintain a valid driver’s license and have reliable transportation

Nice To Haves

• Ability to take own photos is a plus
• Facility with multiple languages is a plus

Responsibilities

• Enterprise reporting, go out and interview the people affected, dig into the data behind it, and then craft a comprehensive story showing all sides
• Versatility is a must, as stories will cover a variety of topics
• Write often on deadline in a fast-paced environment
• Produce stories that are assigned, and pitch story ideas on a regular basis
• Research and develop stories to the utmost accuracy
• Cultivate sources both in person and via social media
• Understand and use company-provided hardware, software and cloud-based equipment and systems for company business and tasks
• Discuss stories throughout the process with the assignment editor, including (but not limited to): idea development, overcoming hurdles, editing, strategy for presentation and analytics
• Work with the photo and graphics teams to explore all the visual ways stories can be told or enhanced
• Collaborate with others throughout SCNG’s four-county footprint and beyond in a positive culture of teamwork
• Out-of-town travel is unlikely, but there will be a need to drive around Southern California

Benefits

• In addition to your salary, the Company offers eligible employees a variety of benefits including medical, dental, life and disability insurance, 401k, as well as paid time off and select paid holidays (all benefits are based on eligibility). Please click the following link for more detailed information: http://www.mybensite.com/mng

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees