Atlanta daily seeks economic development and commercial real estate reporter

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is seeking an enterprising reporter to join a dynamic team covering the economy, development, and business across the state.

Metro Atlanta continues to grow, and its economic development and commercial real estate activity impacts its residents in many ways. We need you to develop and write stories that will connect the dots between major happenings in the broader economy and moves by major companies in response to those trends.

We are seeking someone who is enthusiastic about writing about complex topics in a way that is accessible to our readership. This reporter will manage one of the AJC’s premiere business beats by breaking news on the economic development and commercial real estate beat in metro Atlanta and across Georgia.

Whether it is Rivian planning to build an electric vehicle factory where it will employ 7,500 or a developer’s plans to alter Atlanta’s skyline, the AJC wants to own the business news that matters and explain the broader economy with authority.

A successful candidate must communicate clearly to readers not only that major real estate companies plan big projects, but what those projects mean to neighborhoods, cities, counties, and the metro area at large.

This beat is not purely a real estate beat, though real estate is an important component. A successful candidate must know how to stay on top of corporate relocations and expansions, craft enterprise stories about major economic trends and be flexible in what is in many ways an interdisciplinary beat. Collaboration with other members of the economy and environment team, the local and state politics teams and the investigative team is a must.

In the same month, this reporter might write about a Fortune 500 headquarters move, a defining real estate project in-town or in the Atlanta suburbs, the economic impact of Georgia’s film or technology industries and team with reporters elsewhere in the newsroom to explain to readers why local or state political moves could influence the broader economy.

We are seeking an aggressive candidate who will establish a large network of business and political sources and community contacts to ensure awareness of those issues that resonate with our audience. It will be this reporter’s responsibility to capture those conversations for our print, digital and social media platforms.

This reporter must be able to produce clean, organized publication-ready content with a minimum of supervision. He or she must be able to use a variety of storytelling tools including video, data, other narrative elements, and emerging digital-only formats. At its most effective, this reporter’s work will achieve tangible, positive results on behalf of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s readers.

As a beat reporter, he/she must demonstrate a highly developed capacity to use the Internet as a reporting tool. Additionally, he/she must be able to break news often for ajc.com while quickly turning well-reported dailies and substantial enterprise for Sunday and Page One. The position also requires that he/she use our metrics tools to understand and grow our digital and social media audiences.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the leading journalism organization in the Southeast, focuses its reporting staff on local matters and closely monitors state and local governments, the local economy, entertainment, and sports.  Its journalists seek to uncover the truth, protect the public’s right to know and hold community leaders accountable for serving the public. Reporters, editors and photographers aggressively document the region’s moments, milestones and people.

Key requirements:

• Demonstrates strong news judgment and clear ability to quickly develop reader-focused story ideas.
• Displays depth as a reporter and capability of delivering stories without reporting gaps.
• Has ability to juggle priorities and assignments.
• Collaborates effectively with others.
• Uses time effectively, meeting deadlines and producing an acceptable volume of work.
• Demonstrates ability to break exclusive stories.
• Shows capacity to work on a range of topics and quickly gain sufficient knowledge.
• Demonstrates clear understanding of state and federal laws related to public records.
• Generates work that is balanced, fair, accurate and complete, incorporating, where appropriate, a diverse range of sources. Copy should not contain errors of fact of judgment and should not include any issue of bias.
• Handles other assignments as needed, showing flexibility and adaptability.
• Engages editors on best ways to present stories on digital and print platforms.

The ideal candidate will have a style that informs and educates readers in relatable terms, keeping readers rather than sources and politicos in mind. The position will include a mix of breaking and news and may require some travel throughout the state to report stories.

A strong grounding in journalism, including interviewing, documents reporting and journalistic ethics, is required.

Qualifications:

Education

• College degree preferred.

Experience

• 3 years of professional journalism experience required; preferably covering a business and/or government beat.
• Displays a clear understanding of source development and beat maintenance.
• Displays a clear ability to develop strong, reader-focused story ideas and write about complex concepts with clarity and authority.
• Fluent in the use of government records and the state and federal open records acts.
• Knowledge of spreadsheet and database programs a plus.
• Fluent in another language than English is a plus, but not required
• Demonstrated ability to be highly organized and, when warranted, manage and juggle multiple stories simultaneously.
• Must have strong skills in communicating and collaborating with editors and colleagues.
• Capacity to shoot own photographs when needed.
• Demonstrated ability to work in digital media, providing searchable data for Web readers, etc.
• Permanent residence in metro Atlanta required
• Proven record of time management and productivity to succeed in a remote work environment required.
• Excellent communication skills with a collaborative attitude.

To apply, go here.