General Assignment Reporter

Date Posted	May 07, 2024
Industry	Newspapers
Specialty	Not Specified
Required Education	Bachelor's Degree
Job Status	Full-time

Description:

Summary/Job Brief:

Come join a dynamic newsroom in Central Washington.

We’re a daily, award-winning newspaper covering Grant and Adams counties with an editorial staff of six searching for a passionate journalist to help us keep our readers informed. This position will cover a variety of beats including business, city government, aerotech development, green energy and agriculture. Our ideal candidate is someone who can work on both daily tasks and long-term projects, collaborating with the editor to create consistent, excellent journalism.

The reporter would be responsible for writing 10 articles for the daily newspaper each week, on average. Our selected candidate may also assist with some layout and all staff collaborate to ensure the highest quality content possible. Coverage should include articles that interest readers throughout our coverage area with some focus on solutions journalism, data journalism and government coverage.

In addition to our daily publication, we publish the Basin Business Journal, covering agriculture and industry in Eastern Washington. We also produce magazines for Adams and Grant counties as well as the city of Moses Lake, among other publications.

This position will include some weekend and evening work, but generally will not exceed 40 hours a week and the team works together to ensure work-life balance. 

Skills:

• Self-sufficiency

• Expertise in writing using AP style

• Competence with or desire to learn Adobe Creative Suite, especially InDesign

• Strong communication skills — developing trust and access within your beats

• Photography skills are a must, will be responsible for taking your own photos

• Social media (Twitter (X), Facebook and Instagram)

• Ability to juggle short- and long-term deadlines

The successful candidate will have: 

• A strong sense of journalistic ethics

• A belief in the value of community news

• Dependability and consistency in hitting deadlines

• Eagerness to pitch and execute stories that report on more than just the surface of issues in the community

• A mindset for collaboration with the managing editor and design team

• A friendly attitude, especially when representing the paper to the community

Mandatory gear:

• Driver’s license

• Reliable vehicle

• Current proof of auto insurance

Education:

A Bachelor's degree or higher in journalism or other communication equivalent

Experience:

We invite all interested parties to apply. If you have the right attitude we can work together to help you build experience in the field and grow as a journalist.

Benefits:

Staff are reimbursed for mileage at the corporate rate.

Reporters receive a $40 per month stipend for cell phone usage.

Benefits include paid vacation and sick time, as well as health insurance and a 401K along with other perks.

How to apply:

Applicants should provide a resume, cover letter and portfolio of at least five clips to editor@columbiabasinherald.com with the subject line: Reporter Application

About the Columbia Basin: 

Grant and Adams counties are located in the Columbia Basin with the Columbia River bordering much of our coverage area on our western side. Mostly rural, the coverage area includes a variety of outdoor recreation opportunities including Potholes Reservoir State Park, Hanford Reach National Monument, dozens of small and medium-sized lakes, the Grand Coulee (and its namesake dam) and others. While much of the area is shrub-steppe, the region is a short drive away from both the Cascade and Rocky mountain ranges.

Just because we’re rural doesn’t mean we don’t have modern industry. Moses Lake and the surrounding area is known for more than just growing potatoes. Going back to the early 1900s, the area has been home to innovation in aerospace and aerotech research into aircraft and spacecraft. Our area also has cutting-edge green energy research, solar energy materials production,  data storage and management facilities and other technology resources and industries.

Auto enthusiasts abound with car clubs of every sort scattered around the Basin with residents driving everything one could think of including souped-up cars one might see in a Vin Diesel movie to classics from the early 1900s. Each town has some sort of car show or get-together either seasonally or on an ongoing basis. Mudding groups enjoy time out at the various recreation areas set up for that purpose. 

Several museums are scattered throughout the area, including a Carnegie library. The arts are prevalent throughout the region with multiple opportunities to enjoy live music, theater and traditional arts like sculpture and paintings. 

Local shops provide a large variety of opportunities for fashion lovers or craftspeople to pursue their interests.