Houston Biz Journal seeks economic development reporter

The Houston Business Journal is looking for a top-notch reporter to cover economic development.

The economic development beat is the essence of top-level reporting. It requires building — and working — strong source networks to break big news, dig out trends and connect dots before anyone else does. The ideal candidate sees important community issues clearly, and is driven to cover the intersection of business and government, where government involvement in business issues — transportation, major civic construction projects, environmental and other regulations, corporate relocations, etc. — either helps the business community grow or causes it pain.

We need someone who can marry strong traditional journalism skills – source building, sharp news judgment, interviewing prowess, strong analytical and investigative reporting, clear writing, document use – with online and social media know-how. Whatever the platform, this reporter will produce content that is accompanied by perspective and context for our influential and growing audience of business owners, executives and professionals in Houston and across the region.

Skills

• 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

A Business Journal reporter is competitive, collaborative and curious. He or she is expected to contribute both short- and long-form stories to our news products online, in email, on mobile and in print. Specifically, reporters are expected to own every important story on their beat; use networking events, social media platforms and other community-building outlets to expand and fortify their source base and audience; work collaboratively with other newsroom staffers to maximize impact and accessibility of stories reported; and meet or exceed goals related to audience engagement. Also, scoops matter. A lot.

Experience

• Minimum of 3-5 years of journalism experience.

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

• Proven experience building and maintaining a strong source base.

• Knowledge of business principles essential.

• Houston community experience a plus.

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience

To apply, email a resume, cover letter and links to clips that best show enterprise and scoops reporting to Beth Hunt, director of editorial recruiting and development, American City Business Journals, bzhunt@bizjournals.com