Bay area media looking for biz reporters

The San Jose Mercury News is looking for a reporter to cover Silicon Valley start-ups and venture capital, while Xconomy is looking to hire a reporter for its San Francisco operations.

The memo from Mercury News editor Dave Butler states, “Candidates must have at least two years experience covering the start-up industry, or a background working in the industry as well as at least two years of reporting experience at a daily news organization. We are looking for a reporter who can produce enterprise stories for the front page, craft an engaging weekly column focusing on the people and companies that are driving the industry, as well as quickly write breaking news for the Web. The ideal candidate will also have solid judgment, since part of the job will be to serve as an ‘early-warning’ system for the Business Section to alert its editors about the ‘next’ Facebook, or Twitter, or other phenomenon that will reshape Silicon Valley.”

Wade Roush (no relation) of Xconomy writes, “The ideal candidate will be able to dig up great story ideas, understand complex technology ideas and business models, handle interviews with high-powered entrepreneurs and investors, and write quickly. Experience with blogging and other forms of online communication and social media is a must, as is the stamina to produce breaking news stories and longer features and profiles on a daily basis.

“Xconomy is a distributed organization but we work together closely, so we’re looking for someone who has both a great team attitude and the ability to work independently. A sense of humor helps. We cover a lot of fields with a small staff, so this is a great job for a journalist who has experience with a variety of beats and enjoys learning new ones.”