PennLive seeks collaborating, digital-savvy sports journalists in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh

Does your blood start pumping when you make a public records request? Generate high-end enterprise? Or break some news?

PennLive is continuing its statewide push and looking for two collaborating, digital-savvy journalists.

One will cover a wide variety of topics in Philadelphia. The other will do the same in Pittsburgh.

We already have NFL beat writers in each city, so you’ll be part of a two-person team.

Our goal is to generate analysis, identify high-impact issues and produce deep reporting and polished writing.

Don’t plan on being a beat writer but plan on writing about anything sports fans want to consume from the pros to colleges to preps.

At the end of the day, we should be telling all the top stories in each market.

One day, you might be eating a cheesesteak with a highly regarded prep recruit and his mom for an in-depth, human-interest feature.

The next, you might be reporting on a pro athlete who’s been accused of a crime.

And in a pinch, you might be part of our team coverage at a Donald Trump rally. (Yes, our sportswriters help out the newsies and vice versa)

Be ready to zig when everyone is zagging.

• Before Penn State’s final home football game, we wrote about which Big Ten stadiums kicked out the most fans.

• On the eve of the Super Bowl, we wrote that seven of the top eight coaches in the big game where white, examined how the Rooney Rule had stalled out and looked at how the Eagles skirted it after firing Chip Kelly.

• Before the Preakness, we dove deep on what authorities called a yearlong race-fixing scandal at our local track and the 11 arrests that resulted.

• On Signing Day, we dropped a series on how Penn State established a State College to Philly pipeline.

• And when police said LeSean McCoy beat down some off-duty officers, our Eagles writer wrote more than two dozen stories. Translation: You should enjoy getting incident reports as much as covering games.

Get the picture?

We’re looking for an aggressive team player, who can break away from the pack and generate content that engages a broad audience.

You also must be savvy on social media and equally comfortable on both sides of the video camera.

And, if you’re not a fan of the ever-changing media landscape or working with analytics to help guide coverage, this is not the job for you.

In this demanding position, you’ll have to keep a close eye on metrics, produce content that moves the needle and meet page view goals.

After that, you’ll be able to generate high-end enterprise that surprises readers and keeps them coming back for more.

PennLive is a digital-first operation, located in Harrisburg – Pennsylvania’s state capital. We also publish The Patriot-News.

The APSE recently named us a top-10 website, Sunday section and daily section. And, we were named the top overall newspaper in the state’s largest circulation category.

Interested candidates should email a cover letter, resume and three clips to sports manager Burke Noel at bnoel@pennlive.com.

 

JournalismJobs.com posting.

 

Does anyone's blood really start pumping when making a public records request? I wanna party with those cowboys and cowgirls.

 

Anyone know what this pays? I'm guessing in the 30's or 40's

 

Don't know that for sure. The one thing I do know is Burke will treat you right. And fair. If this was another position, I'd jump all over it. He's that good. That said, run to this position.

 

Hey folks, this is my old shop, so feel free to shoot me a message if you have questions and I'll do my best to help out or get you the answers you need.

As for pay, I'd expect it to be high 30s, low 40s depending on experience.

 

Quick update: Thanks to everyone who's applied. We're trying to narrow down the large field of applicants this week. My goal is to do a round of phone interviews and then bring in some finalists in the next two weeks. We're moving quickly. I'll also try to answer any questions. As far as compensation, that's going to be based on experience, and we'll discuss that with the finalists. Burke

 

Quick update: Thanks to everyone who applied for the positions – it was a very strong field of applicants.

We’ve narrowed down the list to eight candidates we’re going to chat with by phone.

After that, we’re planning on bringing in finalists for interviews ASAP.

We’re moving as quick as we can – with football season right around the corner.

If you’re still planning on applying, please send your stuff right away.

Thanks, Burke

 

I'd really love if job listings didn't include meaningless buzz phrases like this. You otherwise did a good job of illustrating what's expected in this role, but too many others only include this sort of vague content marketing speak.

 

Folks,
We've filled both of these positions.
Daniel Gallen of the Baltimore Sun will be heading to Philadelphia for us, and Lauren Kirschman of the The Beaver County Times will be our Pittsburgh writer.
Congrats to Daniel and Lauren.
And, thanks to everyone who applied -- it was an outstanding field of applicants.
Good luck during football season.
Burke