Breaking News Reporter Job at Dallas News Corp. in Dallas

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Job Title

Business Title

Staff Writer

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Location

Downtown Dallas (TDMN) - Dallas, TX 75201 US (Primary)

Salary Grade

Job Type

Full-Time

Exemption Type

Non-Exempt

Travel

Some Travel

Job Description

The Dallas Morning News has an opening for a breaking news reporter who can cover a range of news in the nation’s fourth-largest metro area. Our 12-member Breaking and Trending News team is at the heart of our newsroom and is crucial to getting us off to a fast start on major news.

The ideal candidate is fast, accurate and aggressive in seeking out stories that begin with the breaking post and develop into meaningful follow-up coverage. You should be an independent worker, boast a high metabolism for news and have strong SEO headline writing skills.

Much of our breaking news is public safety oriented, but any day you could wind up reporting about business, politics or a range of trending topics.

We're looking for a strong writer with breaking news experience who is eager to go out into the community to cover spot news and to amplify our storytelling. While top-of-funnel briefs are a key part of the job, we're looking for a journalist who is capable and willing to dig deeper to tell the next-day story that differentiates us from the competition and injects depth, impact and humanity into our coverage.

You should have the ability to synthesize information quickly and the skill to develop, write and present compelling articles that engage digital audiences. Teamwork and collaboration are hallmarks of our newsroom and this team, so we’re looking for a journalist who thrives in that environment.

News you can use regarding Dallas Morning News: The Dallas Morning News is Texas’ leading daily newspaper with a bedrock journalistic reputation, intense regional focus and close community ties. We are dedicated to covering the issues that impact everyday lives in North Texas. More than 12 million people a month read The News’ content published in print, online or digitally. Founded in 1885, The News maintains one of the largest newsrooms in Texas and has won nine Pulitzer Prizes.

We believe our community is best served by a diverse newsroom that fosters an inclusive work environment for people from all backgrounds, regardless of race, gender, age or sexual orientation.

• Internal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee
• Internal Culture Committee
• Leadership Development Programs
• Flexible Work Schedules
• Monthly Webinars addressing Health & Wealth for all employees
• Medical/Dental and Vision insurance
• MDLive Telemedicine 24/7/365 access to board certified doctors via computer or phone
• FMLA and Parental Leave
• Onsite Fitness Center
• Retirement benefits, including employer contributions
• Employee Assistance Program
• 18 Paid Time Off Days

The Dallas Morning News recognizes different perspectives and backgrounds drive the innovation and ideas that are essential to our business success. To that end, we are committed to attracting and retaining a diverse staff. Diversity, equity and inclusion will be embedded in the hiring, promotion and development of our employees and in reaching diverse audiences with our content.

Essential functions:

Report fairly, accurately, and thoroughly

Ensure reporting offers a window on the communities we serve that reflect their spirit, personalities, and diversity.

Show a strong aptitude for open records requests and other investigative tools and tactics.

Dig for and gather news and information. synthesize it in strong prose

Make use of visual elements to augment storytelling

Build subject matter expertise and audience around a topic, cultivate sources, and generate story ideas

Use social media as a reporting tool and a venue for promoting work and engaging productively with relevant audiences.

Adhere to company values and newsroom guidelines, including standards of journalism ethics.

Assist with planning for photos, graphics, and illustrations to enhance the visual quality of stories and gather supplemental assets to improve digital presentations

Write headlines that sell a story across platforms.

Job Requirements

Here’s our list of preferred skills and experience: (Please note this is not a checklist of requirements, but should be considered as a pool of preferred qualifications. If you can already do some of these things, great. If you're excited about figuring out how to do all of them, great! We'd love to hear from you either way.".)

Bachelor’s degree in journalism or related fields.

At least two years of experience as a journalist is preferred

Fluency in Spanish is a plus

Strong reporting and writing skills

Adept with social media and website analytics

Must have a valid driver's license and registered vehicle to travel to assignments

Skills:

• Use social media for newsgathering and audience development
• Comfort with fast-paced incremental storytelling (e.g., producing social media updates, updating online stories)
• Basic data literacy and analysis and ability to build simple charts, graphs, maps with in-house tools
• Demonstrated ability to gather, edit and post basic video and audio
• Demonstrated ability to work remotely via smartphone or laptop computer
• Demonstrated ability to interpret audience analytics to inform newsgathering decisions
• Understanding of platforms and audiences and ability to compose stories appropriate to the platform of publication (e.g., voice, style, formatting, hyperlinks)
• Basic knowledge of SEO and social headline writing techniques
• Collaborate effectively with team members and across newsroom teams
• Spanish language skills are a plus; written and oral fluency is required for Al Dia staff writers.