Dallas Morning News seeks airline reporter

The Dallas Morning News seeks a reporter to join its award-winning business staff to cover the important and often-changing airline industry.

With two of the largest players in in its backyard — Southwest Airlines and American Airlines — The News has led the nation in its coverage of the industry. The ideal candidate would carry on the tradition.

While coverage centers on Southwest and American, it also includes the industry nationally, as well as operations at two major airports. The beat includes a mix of consumer stories (fares, routes, travel trends), business strategy and competition, labor-management relations and often litigation and regulatory issues.

The job requires someone who can do involved, deep looks at a very complex industry as well as the ability to react quickly and accurately to news. Multiple stories per day are often required. The reporter will be the lead writer on the popular Airline Biz blog, which attracts about 5 million page views a year. Applicants should bring ideas about how to expand page views and grow the readership.

Required skills include ability to develop trusted sources within the companies, data collection and analysis; experience in and enthusiasm for Twitter, Facebook and other social media; an understanding of how business works, including the ability to read a balance sheet, income statement and earnings report; and working skills in photography (for the blog). Beyond that, applicants should bring strong writing skills, an ability to work with a team, and a willingness to learn new ways to present material digitally.

Candidates should send resumes and clips to Dennis Fulton, business editor, at dfulton@dallasnews.com<mailto:dfulton@dallasnews.com>, and Amber Thigpin, corporate recruiting manager, at athigpen@dallasnews.com<mailto:athigpen@dallasnews.com>.