Business First of Louisville seeks reporter

Business First, an American City Business Journals online and print news operation in Louisville, Ky., seeks an experienced reporter who is prepared to break news online in a fast-paced environment, write with deep context and clarity, become an authoritative voice on topics of interest to the business community, connect with readers via social media, and take photos and videos to accompany news reports.

Qualifications:

The ideal candidate will have strong traditional journalism skills, such as source building, sharp interviewing techniques, strong analytical and investigative reporting skills, and clear writing. Scoops matter. A lot. Only journalists with at least five years of experience and who are competitive, collaborative and curious need apply.

Duties:

A Business First reporter’s top mission is to own his/her beat by writing authoritative content for use online, in print and via social media to ensure audience engagement. The main focus of this reporter position is covering commercial real estate and economic development in the Louisville, Ky., region.

Specific duties include:

– Writing and aggregating online reports every weekday;

– Writing stories for and reshaping online reports for the weekly print edition;

– Developing a constantly evolving content plan that includes breaking news, impact stories, small-business snapshots, people profiles as well as articles related to Business First research that appears on its lists;

– Collaborating with editors, the photographer, designer and researcher about content development and photos/graphics to ensure top-quality reports with appropriate visuals;

– Taking photos and videos when covering events and interviewing sources;

– Using networking events, Twitter, LinkedIn and other resources to expand and fortify a source pool and audience.

Required skills:

– Proven ability in reporting and writing;

– Ability to work independently and, on occasion, 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, on the phone and online, and to develop sources and audience;

– Solid understanding of news writing, journalistic ethics and story structure;

– Ability to leverage relationships with sources to deliver compelling content.

Please send samples of your work, a resume, salary expectation, and a cover letter detailing why you’re a good fit for the reporter position to Business First editor Carol Timmons at ctimmons@bizjournals.com. (Please put “REPORTER RESUME” in the e-mail subject line.) Or mail your information to 455 S. Fourth St., Suite 278, Louisville, KY 40202. No phone calls, please.