Breaking News/GA Reporter
The Modesto Bee, an award-winning McClatchy news organization, is looking for an ambitious, high-energy and audience-focused reporter to cover breaking news and general assignment in this growing northern San Joaquin city of 215,000 and county of roughly 500,000. We’re located within 80 miles of the Bay Area, Yosemite and Sacramento.
Our coverage area includes the city of Modesto, eight other cities in Stanislaus County and a handful of communities in Tuolumne and southern San Joaquin counties. We follow several agencies and are in direct competition with four Sacramento-based television stations and others. We want to be first at all times.
Your assignments could include everything from a homicide to an enterprising story on the use of body cameras by law enforcement. Our new reporter should have an innate curiosity and come ready to develop story ideas. There will be night and weekend duties.
Minimum requirements:
- Strong writing and reporting skills and excellent news judgment
- Unwavering commitment to accurate, ethical journalism
- Demonstrated ability to use social media platforms to reach and engage with audiences
- Fluency in the science of readership and engagement, including an understanding of how to use analytics such as page views, time on site, referral sources and “shares and likes” to help determine which stories resonate with which audiences
- The ability to write accurately and well on deadline
- Capacity to pivot at a moment's notice and be highly flexible
- Ability to monitor a police scanner and social media for potential news
- Proficiency in shooting and producing video from the field
- Skill at developing law enforcement and fire agency sources for potential enterprise writing opportunities
- A demonstrated ability to tell stories using a variety of tools and platforms, including video
- A demonstrated ability to learn new skills and technologies, including content management systems; social media platforms; video editing software; Omniture, CrowdTangle and other analytics tools; and any emerging storytelling tools and platforms
- Strong interpersonal skills, including empathy and the ability to take and give constructive criticism.