Local News Reporter

Date Posted	April 29, 2024
Industry	Newspapers
Specialty	Local News
Required Education	Bachelor's Degree
Job Status	Full-time

Description:

Summary:
If you're a dedicated local news journalist eager to tell your readers what’s happening in the community around them, you may be the next Reporter to join the Bay Area News Group and The Mercury News. We’re looking for a passionate Local News Reporter to cover the suburbs of Silicon Valley, specifically Fremont and the Tri-Valley, which consists of Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore. These cities have faced rapid growth and development in the past 10 years, forever altering the community in ways that make it a place rich with stories for a hungry reporter. The ideal beat reporter has the energy to jump from one hot story to the next in an intensely competitive news environment, and the initiative and time-management skills to dig deep when impactful enterprise opportunities emerge. We serve a savvy, sophisticated audience that includes millions of online readers and hundreds of thousands of people who read our printed newspapers.
 

What you will do:

• Write sharp, clean copy that draws readers in, including nut graphs and online headlines

• Develop and maintain sources within the Fremont and Tri-Valley communities

• Report directly from the field

• Juggle multiple stories of varying complexity, from quick news posts under intense deadline pressure to daily news stories and longer-term enterprise or features

• Tap into the successes and challenges of local government, from town councils to school boards, and keep a thumb on the pulse of an engaged populace

• Work in real time, publishing words individually and in collaboration with colleagues

• Jump from one hot story to the next in an intensely competitive news environment

What you will bring:

• 2+ years of experience as a working journalist, preferably including at least some coverage of politics and government, breaking news, business and the environment

• Excellent news judgment and a drive to compete

• Knowledge of municipalities and local government 

• Strong writing skills under deadline pressure

• Proficiency at using the web and social media to report stories and to share them

• Strong grammatical skills and a working knowledge of the Associated Press stylebook

• The skill to mine human sources, documents and data, including a facility for obtaining and using public records 

• 4-year college degree (journalism or related fields)

• In our diverse region, facility with multiple languages is a plus

• Valid Driver’s License and Reliable Transportation required

Must be located in the South or East Bay Area with weekly onsite expectations in San Jose.

Along with your resume, please submit a cover letter and 3-4 writing clips.

The hourly wage is $28.00 - $31.50 ($58,240 - $65,520). Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to education, work experience, time in role, certifications, etc. In addition to your salary, MediaNews Group offers a comprehensive benefits package, and 401K plan (all benefits are based on eligibility).

Who we are:

Bay Area News Group is a media company whose portfolio is comprised of regional news and advertising products, as well as other well-positioned and growing digital businesses. Bay Area News Group is the single leading source of news and information for the majority of communities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Our weekly audience exceeds 5 million through a portfolio of print and digital products. Bay Area News Group is a part of Media News Group, the second largest newspaper company in the United States. Our mission is to inform Bay Area communities by telling accurate and compelling stories that make an impact. Bay Area News Group is the largest newspaper publisher in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. Our original flagship newspaper, The Mercury News, began as a broadsheet pulled from a hand press in 1851. From there it grew into a Pulitzer Prize-winning daily, in time combining resources with other leading papers to become the largest news publisher in the Bay Area. Today we have the most extensive newsroom staff covering this vibrant market, bolstered by top national and international news services. In April of 2016 Bay Area News Group consolidated its major dailies into two regional powerhouses: The Mercury News serving Silicon Valley and the Peninsula; and the East Bay Times serving Oakland, Walnut Creek, Pleasanton and the rest of the East Bay. Readers on each side of the bay get the news, information and entertainment that shapes and impacts their own lives. Further neighborhood coverage is provided by additional Bay Area News Group publications, including the Marin Independent Journal and dozens of community weeklies.

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