The Seattle Times, a family-owned news organization and one of the nation’s premier regional news sources, is hiring a Sports Columnist to join our Pulitzer Prize-winning newsroom. This individual will be a leading voice and help drive coverage in one of the nation’s most competitive sports markets.
This position helps frame community conversation around the Seahawks, Mariners, Storm, Kraken, OL Reign, Sounders, UW Huskies and other sports teams (likely including an NBA team in the coming years) while building reader loyalty through thorough reporting and lively and authoritative writing. You’ll write three opinion pieces per week – analyzing and critiquing teams, players and front-office/administration strategies – and you’ll produce occasional longer-form enterprise stories. The Sports Columnist reports to the Sports Editor.
Responsibilities:
- Prepare accurate, fair, balanced and carefully researched opinion pieces and longer-form enterprise stories to meet assigned deadlines. Seek a variety of sources for each piece.
- Write clear, focused and well-organized columns and enterprise stories. Write clear, appropriate leads. Write with authority based on clear understanding of topic.
- Develop sources and maintain a steady flow of ideas for columns and enterprise stories. Consistently suggest ideas for columns.
- Work closely with the Sports Editor and others to chart direction and make decisions on column topics based on our goals and priorities.
- Demonstrate a commitment to equity and inclusion in column choice, sourcing and framing.
Qualifications:
If your profile doesn’t match this job description exactly, you may still be a candidate for this position. Please let us know how your skills and experience relate to the role and its objectives in your cover letter.
- Experience: 2+ years of writing sports columns at a daily newspaper or website preferred.
- Education: Bachelor’s degree or a combination of education and experience.
- Must be comfortable analyzing a deadline event or offering a perspective on a national or regional event.
- Must have or quickly develop broad knowledge of Seattle-area and national sports at all levels.
- Must have the ability to analyze facts and make judgments about relevance, newsworthiness, fairness, etc., on deadline.
- Must have the ability to write clearly, accurately and creatively.?
Schedule: This position requires a large amount of evening and weekend work, and the daily schedule varies. There will be times when you’ll have to drop what you’re doing and write a column off breaking news. The position is remote, often at sports venues, and working in the office is an option.
Compensation: The full salary range for this position is $47,000 to $117,000. We typically pay between $90,000 and $115,000, depending on experience and qualifications.
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