McClatchy is looking for ambitious, creative, real-time news reporters to deliver quick-turn stories about compelling news, sports and political happenings and other cultural phenomena from across the nation.
Our real-time reporters use social media, Google Trends and other tools to identify, report on and sometimes aggregate stories that are going to drive social and cultural conversations. Responding to big breaking news events is sometimes part of the job, but the primary role is to grow our audience by recognizing what’s trending or about to trend in a McClatchy region or across the country.
These reporters will work as part of McClatchy’s nationwide Real-Time Team, which includes editors and reporters based in McClatchy properties across the country. The reporter based in Fort Worth will primarily focus on trending news about college and pro sports in Texas and Oklahoma as well as nationally, working in cooperation with beat writers in Fort Worth. Some news-side reporting will be involved.
Requirements
The most compelling candidates will have:
- The ability to write quickly, accurately and well
- A commitment to provide accurate information, both in fact and in context
- Solid news judgment and excellent journalism ethics
- An understanding of how to verify the authenticity of information, sources, photos and video found through social media
- An intuitive sense of what’s important and interesting
- A good grasp of what drives interest on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms and an understanding of the tools used to surface story ideas
- A strong entrepreneurial spirit, deep curiosity and a strong sense of urgency
- A collaborative style that works comfortably as part of a virtual team whose members are located throughout the country
- The ability to quickly master technology, including content management systems and storytelling tools
Education: College degree preferred but commensurate professional experience will be considered. Personal Attributes: Creativity, flexibility, and online smarts. The ability to monitor a vast amount of information for a wide audience, matched with discerning judgment about what to pursue. The ability to execute both quickly and well.
