The Birmingham Business Journal is seeking a reporter who is able to marry strong traditional journalism skills – source building, sharp interviewing techniques, strong analytical and investigative reporting skills, clear writing, document use – with online and social media know-how. Whatever the platform, reporters will produce content – original and curated – that is accompanied by perspective and context. Beats available at this time include real estate, finance and general assignment.
Duties: The top mission: to own audience, by every measure. A BBJ reporter is expected to contribute both short-form (daily online posts) and long-form (print) stories to our news products. Scoops matter. A lot. Specifically reporters will be expected to own their beat audience and conversation; use networking events, Twitter, LinkedIn and other community-building outlets to expand and fortify their source pool and audience; work collaboratively with other newsroom staffers to maximize impact and accessibility of stories reported; and meet or exceed goals related to audience engagement.
Required skills:
Proven ability in reporting and writing
Ability to work independently and remotely
Ability to break news and to identify newsworthy events and sources
Strong analytical and investigative interviewing skills
Ability to relate comfortably to a wide range of people, in person and online, and to develop sources and audience
Competitive, collaborative, curious
Solid understanding of news writing, journalistic ethics and story structure
Ability to leverage relationships with sources to deliver content that differentiates the organization from competitors
Experience: Minimum of 2 years of journalism experience; Proven experience building, maintaining and engaging an active audience; Knowledge of business, and/or business community, a plus. Experience with using social media to source and promote content also a plus
Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
For more information, contact Editor Cindy F. Crawford at ccrawford@bizjournals.com or (205) 443-5631.
