Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is a subscription-led and digitally-focused media and marketing solutions company committed to empowering communities to thrive. With an unmatched reach at the national and local level, Gannett touches the lives of millions with our Pulitzer Prize-winning content, consumer experiences and benefits, and advertiser products and services.
Our current portfolio of media assets includes The USA TODAY NETWORK, which includes USA TODAY, and local media organizations in 43 states in the United States, and Newsquest, a wholly-owned subsidiary operating in the United Kingdom. We also own digital marketing services companies under the brand LocaliQ, which provide a cloud-based platform of products to enable small and medium-sized businesses to accomplish their marketing goals. In addition, our portfolio includes one of the largest media-owned events businesses in the U.S., USA TODAY NETWORK Ventures.
Gannett is seeking reporters to work on a team of journalists covering trending sports stories that start the conversation in the country each day.
We create urgent, smart and innovative sports coverage that reach readers on any platform, illuminating and elevating the most important stories across the nation. Your stories will be published across the Gannett network on USA Today and our more than 200 local newspapers. We identify the top personalities, events and athletes to cover each day, elevating those stories for local, regional and national audiences. And we use metrics and analytics to help us anticipate coverage opportunities that are going to get the country talking.
Our reporters have strong news judgment, file accurate, concise and clean copy on tight deadlines and they enjoy building on breaking news with smart enterprise ideas.
This position will include some night or weekend work and is a remote role.
Responsibilities:
- Covering sports trending topics of the day across the U.S., not only through personality and live-event coverage, but by developing coverage that anticipates our audiences’ interests on any given day
- Localizing national coverage by focusing on the passion topics for our primary markets and target audiences.
- Bringing a creative approach to coverage for emerging sports markets through innovative storytelling techniques tailored to specific platforms.
- Work with editors to evaluate what is working and what is not and develop ongoing plans to better satisfy audience needs.
What you’ll need to thrive in this role:
- A nose for finding interesting stories that take readers beyond what’s trending to highlight intriguing subjects with sophisticated and succinct storytelling.
- Ideas about innovative and creative ways to bring the biggest national stories to readers in fresh and relevant ways, no matter where they find our coverage.
- The ability to work collaboratively with a nationwide team of reporters, editors, photographers and producers to tell meaningful stories that target specific audiences.
- A clear and concise writing style that avoids cliches and explains jargon.
Requirements:
- At least two years of experience working in sports or breaking news coverage.
- Experience generating quick-turn stories, thoughtful enterprise, and in-depth projects.
- Excellent news judgment.
- Familiarity with SEO best practices.
- Top-notch writing and reporting skills.
- Excellent communication skills.
- Ability to work not only independently but also as a key contributor to team/network projects.
- Strong understanding of audience analytics and how to use them to drive content decisions.
- Employment is contingent on passing a post-offer pre-employment background check.
We are eager to learn more about you and how you fit this role. When you apply, do not limit your upload to a resume; show us what you have done. To do so, put together a single document file that includes the following, in this order:
- Your resume – one to two pages.
- A cover letter that outlines how you would approach the job.
- Links to 3-6 online samples of your work. Show us what you have produced or had a hand in that best reflects what you can do in your desired role.
It is important that these items be assembled into a single document and uploaded in PDF format. Completing these steps will ensure that your application receives the highest consideration.
The hourly rate for this role will range between $14.91 and $38.70 Base compensation is reflective of many factors, including, but not limited to, the market in which one lives/works, individual education level, skills, certifications and experience. Note: variable compensation is not reflected in these figures and based on the role, may be applicable.