The Mercury News/East Bay Times seeks a housing reporter

The Bay Area News Group, a subsidiary of MediaNews Group, is seeking a Housing Reporter to join the The Mercury News/East Bay Times team. We are looking for an energetic and resourceful reporter to join our top-notch housing team covering an issue that defines the Bay Area like perhaps no other region in the country, shaping the lives of anyone who lives or works here. We’re looking for someone who is passionate about a topic that has the attention of everyone in the region, whether they are newcomers or long-time residents, young or old, rich or poor, renters or homeowners.

You will be responsible for covering the Bay Area housing market – everything from the big ideas and housing trends to data-driven pieces on home sales, to news developments about how politicians and advocates are responding to the housing crisis, to richly-detailed human stories about how housing costs drive the often difficult life experences of Bay Area residents. You should be an experienced self-starter with an affinity for data and an ability to mine sources for a steady stream of daily news coverage and deeper enterprise for online and print platforms. You should be equally comfortable working independently and as part of a team, collaborating with other reporters who cover housing, homelessness, home sales and commercial deals.

What you will do:

• Cover the Bay Area housing market, including the latest developments in policy, regulation and housing-related news
• Develop and maintain sources within the housing industry, including developers, housing advocates, policymakers and local residents
• Put readers first and make clear to readers why they should care and/or how the news affects them
• Show a sense of urgency and a willingness to embrace last-minute changes in coverage plans and still meet critical deadlines and standards for high-impact journalism
• Display an interest in how digital metrics — data that reveals reader interests and values — can help us make smart coverage decisions 

What you will bring:

• 2+ years of daily journalism experience required
• Prior experience reporting on housing preferred
• Passion for finding and telling human stories of the housing crisis across the Bay Area
• Excellent news judgment and strong writing skill under deadline pressure
• The ability to juggle multiple stories of varying complexity
• Bachelor’s degree preferred (journalism or related fields)

The salary range for this job is $55,000-$75,000 depending on experience and qualifications. Email your resume, 6-10 clips and a cover letter highlighting your vision for the job to newsjobs@bayareanewsgroup.com to convince us why you’re the right person to join our housing team.  Please put the words “housing job” in the subject line of your email. In addition, please submit a copy of your resume here.

For further details click here.