The Gaston Gazette, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK, is looking for a confident, experienced journalist to grow audiences and serve the community through general assignment reporting.
A successful candidate must be a leader in telling the story of Gaston County. We must win with breaking news, go deeper with trends and enterprise reporting and work collaboratively with other newspapers in the region and across the network.
The right candidate also will have experience in social media, SEO and smartphone visual journalism.
Responsibilities:
- Create content (articles, videos, photos and social media posts) about local news that accurately informs, entertains and engages key audiences and platforms through the use of metrics
- Work toward becoming the community’s leading voice for news and issues in Gaston County
- Plan and execute engagement opportunities to reach audiences through content, community events and social media
- Work with content coach to evaluate what’s working and what’s not and develop ongoing plans to better satisfy audience needs
- Collaborate with content team to provide all appropriate elements for stories (i.e. photos, videos and graphics).
- Promote personal brand, the brands of colleagues and the institutional brand.
- Provide great customer service, helping readers find answers and solutions.
- Perform other duties as necessary.
Requirements:
- Working toward a bachelor’s degree in communications, journalism or related field preferred or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Or having recently completed degree.
- Demonstrated ability to prioritize, self-start, multitask, contribute and excel under pressure.
- Adept at taking photos and video and will file quickly across platforms: mobile, desktop and social media.
- Strong command of AP grammar and style.
- Strong copy-editing skills and the ability to produce content that is clean, accurate and “publication ready.”
- Is passionate and enthusiastic about news and content that will work well with audiences on all platforms.
- Comfortable in fluid, fast-breaking, stressful situations.
- Is comfortable using social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat to enhance reporting and promote stories.
- A desire to grow and develop a key beat in our newsroom.
- Understands reporting ethics and sourcing.
- Excels in a fast-paced news environment and understands the digital first mission.
- Works weekends and nights as needed.
- Collaborates well with others and can work with a team on the biggest stories.
- News often requires employees to work extended hours, evenings, weekends and holidays, sometimes unexpectedly.
- This role requires a valid driver’s license,
We are eager to learn more about you and how you fit this role. When you apply, don’t limit your upload to a resume; show us what you’ve done. To do so, put together a single document file that includes the following, in this order:
- Your resume – one to two pages.
- A cover letter that outlines how you would approach the job.
- Links to 3-6 online samples of your work. Show us what you’ve produced or had a hand in that best reflects what you can do in your desired role.
It is important that these items be assembled into a single document and uploaded in PDF format. Completing these steps will ensure that your application receives the highest consideration.
For further details click here.
