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Detroit Lions Reporter | Detriot, Michigan

Discussion in 'Journalism Jobs' started by SFIND, Jul 22, 2016.

  1. SFIND

    SFIND Well-Known Member

    JournalismJobs.com - Job Listing - Detroit Lions Reporter

    The Detroit Lions Reporter works in tandem with the Detroit Lions Beat Reporter covering the team and the season year-round. The reporter helps tell the story of the team and captures the trends within the program through engaging analysis and features.

    This reporter must quickly spot and report on trending stories and also find the unique angles that will set our coverage apart.

    This reporter must also have an audience focus and think like a fan, anticipating questions they’ll ask, plays they’ll be talking about and angles that will intrigue them. Do not confuse this with writing as a fan. The reporter must be comfortable asking the hard questions when situations call for it, which means developing authority on the beat and the relationships to make those connections possible.

    Beyond knowing the beat, the Detroit Lions Reporter must have a passion for telling stories and presenting content creatively. That means geeking out on data, thinking about how multimedia might help tell a story and working with others as needed to see a project through.

    The reporter has a deep knowledge of the program and team specifically and football and the NFL generally and a knack for building and maintaining relationships in order to break news effectively.

    Understanding what plays on social media is a must and this reporter knows what angles to capture and tone to use to capture that audience.

    It’s also essential that this reporter know what resonates on different platforms – desktop, mobile and social – and both experience those platforms as a user and craft content geared toward them.

    Finally, the Detroit Lions Reporter will lead discussions with the audience on the website and on social media, answering questions and comments and incorporating them into coverage whenever possible.

    Required Education, Experience and Skills:


    • Bachelor’s degree in Journalism or Communications or related field required
    • Minimum of 3 years of pro sports beat writing experience, including demonstrated ability to break news
    • Established contacts on the beat and an ability to build and nurture new ones
    • Proven ability to report and write on deadline with minimal guidance as needed, and effectively collaborate as stories dictate
    • Demonstrated experience with storytelling in alternative formats, like data-driven stories and multimedia presentations
    • Experience engaging with audiences on websites and social media
    • Proven ability capture photos, video and audio and embed them in content
    • Understanding of the methods and tools used to deliver content across a variety of platforms such as blogging platforms, video and photo gallery portals and budgeting and archiving systems
    • Familiarity with analytics tools and experience using them to track content performance
    • Experience with SEO, HTML, and data manipulation/visualization a plus


    Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

    1. Cover and nurture the Detroit Lions beat:
    • Attend practices and games and other team activities on a regular basis; build interest by reporting on rosters and news that comes out of player and staff availability and proactively write about intriguing in-game action as well as the game results.
    • Establish contacts within and outside of the Lions organization to build a reliable source pipeline and maintain frequent contact with those contacts for comment.
    • Break news on the beat regarding trades, contracts and other personnel-related moves.
    • Quickly aggregate relevant coverage from other news outlets and follow up as needed.
    • Identify storylines about the players and the team that go beyond the game and follow them with compelling features.
    • Develop an authoritative voice on the beat and assert it with powerful analysis and commentary.
    2. Differentiate the beat with special projects:
    • Mine game storylines for trends on team and player performance and spin them into interesting data-driven narratives, including searchable databases where relevant.
    • Create multimedia content (slideshows, videos, gifs) that suit the subject and give fans an alternative way to experience content.
    • Monitor and engage in reader comments and social media to source ideas, and elevate comments and social media chatter into new posts when appropriate.
    3. Collaborate with fellow reporters and larger team as needed
    • Communicate effectively on coverage to establish and understanding of swim lanes and reach out proactively so coverage is not missed.
    • Coordinate as needed to enable deeper dives on projects.
    4. Maximize audience to content through optimization, promotion and tracking analytics
    • Closely watch analytics to gauge audience reaction and adjust accordingly.
    • Advocate for promotion of content on the website and social media and promote it via personal channels.
    5. Tweak content to capture the most traffic based on audience trends; smartly link, embed videos and photo galleries and craft headlines that will intrigue readers.

    Working Conditions and Physical Requirements:

    General Office Environment. Significant travel required.

    MLive Media Group is an audience-first, digitally focused media company encompassing all content, sales and marketing operations for: MLive.com, The Grand Rapids Press, The Muskegon Chronicle, Kalamazoo Gazette, The Jackson Citizen Patriot, The Ann Arbor News, The Flint Journal, The Saginaw News, The Bay City Times and the Advance Weeklies in Grand Rapids, as well as several related entities. In addition to being Michigan's #1 news and information provider, MLive Media Group is Michigan's largest local media advertising network, allowing advertisers to reach local audiences in communities across the state.
    MLive Media Group is a part of Advance Local, one of the largest media groups in the U.S. reaching more than 40 million consumers through its 12 local news and information websites that rank #1 among local media in their respective markets, and more than 30 newspapers. Our affiliated websites and newspapers are well known for their award-winning journalism. Advance Local is part of Advance Publications, along with Condé Nast and American City Business Journals.
    MLive Media Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, physical or mental impairment, sexual orientation or any other category protected under federal, state or local law.
     
  2. HanSenSE

    HanSenSE Well-Known Member

    What's the difference between a reporter and a beat writer?
     
  3. Riptide

    Riptide Well-Known Member

    I'd say the beat reporter is on the Lions all the time, and the other reporter helps out with Lions coverage and works other topics as needed.
     
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