Gannett seeks a dining & restaurant writer, Daytona Beach News-Journal

We are seeking an energetic and engaging dining and restaurant writer with a dedication to journalism who wants to live, work and play at The World’s Most Famous Beach. The ideal candidate will bring a distinctive voice to the beat displaying a talent for evocative prose equal to their excitement for fabulous cuisine. Daytona Beach and the surrounding area features many popular seafood destinations, often hugging our gorgeous Atlantic Ocean coastline, while also offering a rich variety of culinary delights that reflect our diverse population. In addition, our region includes numerous breweries and wineries along with innovative craft cocktail offerings. Coverage will highlight the assortment of this region’s dining options found everywhere from food trucks to posh beachfront resorts.

The person hired for this position will be:

• Passionate about the community
• Cultivate sources
• Break news on restaurant openings and closings
• Also writing entertaining reviews and producing profiles of local restaurateurs, chefs, and mixologists.
• The ideal candidate should want to immerse themselves in the local restaurant scene.

Becoming a local expert will be paramount to regularly producing and updating deeply reported, best-of articles spotlighting everything from burger joints and pizzerias to romantic and waterfront restaurants. Dining guides will also need to be produced for visitors and locals alike ahead of holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Thanksgiving plus major annual events like the Daytona 500, Bike Week, and spring break.

This position is for

• A self-motivated journalist bringing many tools to the job
• Someone with a digital-first mindset who understands that excellent dining coverage is something people will pay to receive.

Skills:

• You must be able to produce smartly crafted listicles and other alternate story forms as well as traditional content for online and print, occasionally on a tight deadline, with strong headline writing skills informed by our SEO training.
• Taking photos and videos with your phone will also be required.
• Communicating effectively with editors and fellow reporters in our newsroom is another important aspect of the position as well as working virtually with our Florida Entertainment Team that produces content to run statewide and nationally across the USA Today Network.
• Maintaining a fun, positive, and lively social media presence should also be something you will want to do as part of this dream job in the Sunshine State.
• The job requires flexible hours, a passion for eating out, and experience writing for publications.

  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:

1. Your resume – one to two pages.
2. A cover letter that outlines how you would approach the job.
3. 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.

Please send your information to John Dunbar, Executive Editor at: jdunbar@gannett.com

For more details click here.