Sports columnist - Hartford Courant

The columnist’s principal duty is to develop, report, and write compelling perspective pieces with a distinctive and authoritative voice. Responsible for updating stories throughout the day and actively engaging in social media to both inform and interact with readers. This person must own their assigned subject area(s), staying in front of the competition by mining sources and staying on top of what is happening, what people are saying in the social spaces and what the competition is up to. This person must work with their manager to craft a digital and visual plan of attack, assuring the online representation is broad, dynamic and innovative and timely. We expect innovation in approach and a comprehensive online strategy that will contribute to the generation and development of communities of interest.


Responsibilities
RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Uncover and write great stories through regularly scheduled columns in areas of expertise online and in print on time with minimal editing needed.
• Strives to build a position as an authoritative opinion leader who builds a loyal audience, leads community conversations and influences policy and other change.
• Employs creativity to conceive of columns, develops points of view, write persuasive arguments, develop cooperative sources, and present the information to readers in relevant, informative and engaging ways.
• Tailors column ideas and writing to target audiences and serves reader expectations.
• Maintain standards of journalistic excellence in terms if accuracy, fairness and timeliness.
• Approach their job from a digital perspective, posting news and information such as photos/videos, etc. to engage readers in real time rather than allowing the rhythms of print production to set the tone of the day.
• Works with the content manager to develop innovative online content related to stories in the news, including web chats, photo galleries, videos, databases, etc.
• Develop skills in photography and videography.
• High emphasis in use of video content in all stories.
• Use online budgeting tools to report stories in progress or nearing completion.
• May appear publicly on behalf of The Courant at conferences, seminars, professional meetings and employer-sponsored events.

Qualifications
REQUIREMENTS/QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism or Communications preferred.
• Minimum seven years reporting/writing for online or print publication.
• Good working knowledge with various Social Media platforms including Facebook and Twitter.
• Experienced with content management systems.
• Ability to set the agenda for a column and self-manage time and direction, interacting with editors but with little or no supervision.
• Excellent writing, reporting and editing skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including ability to work well with others.
• Ability to remain organized and follow through on assignments timely.
• Ability to maintain accuracy in a fast paced environment while managing multiple priorities.

https://careers-tronc.icims.com/jobs/47892/columnist,-sports/job

 

Wonder how many concessions they had to give up in Hartford for Tronc to allow that position to be filled.

 

Apparently, proficiency in grammar is not essential.
"This person must own their assigned subject areas."
I are disturbed by this.

 

Nobody's been hired yet, either. A lot of times these jobs get posted on a pro forma basis.

 

I didn't realize Jeff Jacobs had left for the Hearst papers. Figured he was a lifer at the Courant.

 

Hearst has been trying to get Jacobs since back in 2010 right after they bought the CT properties (I was in Connecticut at the time). Rumor was he was close to accepting an offer and decided against it to stay in Hartford. The rumor mill also sad they were offering him 6 figures.