Tampa Bay Biz Journal seeks Pinellas County real estate reporter

The Tampa Bay Business Journal has a newsroom opening for its Pinellas County real estate and economic development reporter. The position is based in Pinellas County, and the reporter who fills it will become the must-read source of development news in Pinellas with an emphasis on deals and projects in downtown St. Petersburg.

Working daily with the Business Journal’s real estate editor, this reporter will be expected to break the biggest real estate news ahead of the competition and build a solid pipeline of enterprise ideas.

The beat will mainly focus on commercial development and include big-picture residential trends and news, retail, and restaurant coverage. The Business Journal writes and reports stories that readers can’t find elsewhere and are willing to pay for.

The ideal candidate

–      is a self-starter who is open to collaboration

–      writes with authority and flair

–      has a voice on social media and is willing to engage readers on LinkedIn

–      can constantly develop a deep network of sources, including but not limited to developers, brokers, CEOs, city officials and civic leaders

–      understands or is willing to learn the nuances of Pinellas County’s many submarkets, from Pinellas Park to Clearwater Beach

–      is comfortable with virtual work software such as Slack, Microsoft Teams and Zoom

–      is comfortable with mining data and public records

Business Journal reporters are expected to contribute shorter and long-form stories for the website and weekly print editions. TBBJ reporters must own their beat and dictate day-to-day coverage. Reporters must be vigilant networkers and relationship managers to bring in source-driven scoops. Our best stories come from people, not press releases. Scoops matter — a lot — and on top of that, readers demand to know not only what is happening but why and how. You break hard news that sometimes sources don’t want to be brought to light, but you never burn bridges.

• Report and write short-form and long-form stories for the website and weekly print edition.
• Own the beat, dictating day-to-day coverage and thriving on digging out source-driven exclusive
• Relentlessly develop sources and manage relationships with CEOs and other high-level executives and community leaders.
• Meet or beat rapid daily and weekly deadlines
• Scoop competitors on every story of any significance, not only telling them what happened but why and how
• Understands or is willing to learn the vernacular of the real estate and development world
• Has a daily voice on social media and is willing to engage readers on LinkedIn
• Facilitates/moderates panels at Business Journal/Tampa Bay Inno events and must be comfortable taking a leading role in the community.

• Proven excellence in reporting and writing
• Desire and ability to break news and to identify newsworthy events and sources
• Strong analytical and investigative-interviewing skills
• Strong communication skills, internally and externally
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively
• Ability to relate comfortably to a wide range of people, in person, on the phone and virtually
• A clear drive to develop sources and build an audience
• 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
• Multimedia skills, including video, photos, broadcast, on-camera, are helpful
• 1-3 years of journalism experience
• Track record of building, maintaining and engaging a high-level audience in person, in print and online
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience