Houston Biz Journal seeks a retail and restaurants reporter

The Houston Business Journal is looking for a reporter to cover retail and restaurants.

We need an experienced reporter who can cover the beat from all sides: commercial real estate, finance and public companies’ reporting. Retail and restaurants coverage in this region means digging up and breaking news on a handful of big, publicly traded retail chains, reporting on significant local players, and moving deftly in commercial real estate circles that will tip you to industry moves, deals and trends.

HBJ reporters are expected to provide forward-looking business intelligence to savvy readers who will use it to grow or protect their businesses and keep tabs on the health of the region. Our content gives them a leg up on their competitors, connects them with decision-makers and delineates growth strategies that work from those that don’t.

Our ideal candidate will blend traditional journalism skills — source building, sharp news judgment, interviewing prowess and scoop-driven reporting – with online and social media know-how. Reporters in our newsroom don’t just turn in copy. They include videos, slideshows and other multimedia components that advance the story and further engage our audience. They break hard news that sometimes sources don’t want brought to light, but they don’t burn bridges.

Skills

• 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

• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively

• Ability to relate comfortably to a wide range of people, in person, on the phone and online

• A clear drive to develop sources and build 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, helpful.

Duties

• 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 exclusives.

• Relentlessly develop sources and manage relationships with high-level executives and other community leaders.

• Scoop competitors on every story of any significance, not only telling them what happened, but why and how.

Experience

• 2-3 years of reporting experience.

• Proven experience building, maintaining and engaging an active audience.

• Proven experience building and maintaining a strong source base.

• Knowledge of business principles essential.

• Knowledge of the Houston area a plus.

Education

Bachelor’s in journalism or equivalent work experience

To apply, email a resume cover letter and links to clips that best show enterprise and scoops reporting to Editor Giselle Greenwood, ggreenwood@bizjournals.com