Sports Reporter l Wichita Falls, TX

Job opportunity at Gannett | USA TODAY NETWORK - News - Sports Reporter

News - Sports Reporter
Wichita Falls, TX, USA Req #8606
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is an innovative, digitally focused media and marketing solutions company committed to strengthening communities across our network. With an unmatched local-to-national reach, Gannett touches the lives of more than 110 million people monthly with our Pulitzer-Prize winning content, consumer experiences and benefits, and advertiser products and services. Gannett brands include USA TODAY NETWORK with the iconic USA TODAY and more than 100 local media brands, digital marketing services companies ReachLocal, SweetIQ, and United Kingdom media company Newsquest. To connect with us, visitwww.gannett.com.

The Times Record News, part of Gannett, Inc. and the USA TODAY NETWORK, has an opening for a sports reporter.


We are looking for someone with expertise in multiple areas of coverage, as well as emerging media, mobile, social media and video strategy, and the use of data to drive engagement and traffic.


The sports reporter would collaborate with journalists to strategically guide coverage and ensure our storytelling reflects our mission and audiences.


If you don't mind getting beaten by the competition, this isn't the position for you. And if you don't aspire to produce award-winning-level explanatory work, it's also not the job for you. We have high expectations for this position because of the talented and proven reporters on this team.


The person in this position will play an important role shaping the strategic vision for our newsroom’s future and will help our team execute those strategies at the highest level.


The sports reporter will collaborate with Texas sports leaders to execute sound coverage plans on topics that impact all markets, such as state-wide tournaments and playoff games.


We’re not looking for someone stuck on run-of-the mill coverage. Our readers know the score. They want something meaningful, and we need a reporter keen on hunting down those stories that take place off the field. That means a lot of hard work meeting sources, talking with parents and getting the pulse of our sports community. It will be essential to dig into issues and look for unique stories no one else is telling.



What you’ll do:

• Provide sports coverage of high schools in the area.
• Use metrics to create storytelling that accurately informs, entertains and engages specific audiences and platforms.
• Become the community’s leading voice for sports coverage.
• Connect with the community through storytelling and outreach (social media, on camera, forums, community leadership, etc.).
• Collaborate with content team to provide all the appropriate elements for stories (i.e. photos, videos and graphics). Capture photos and video as needed.
• Provide thoughtful analysis of sports issues.
• Provide great customer service, helping readers find answers and solutions.
• Use live video to spotlight breaking news and high interest events

The Times Record News, a part of Gannett, Inc. and The USA TODAY Network, pays competitive salary and excellent benefits. Wichita Falls sits near the border of Oklahoma, about two hours northwest of Dallas and two hours south of Oklahoma City. The diverse, business-friendly community of around 100,000 people, with civic and elected leaders focused on economic growth, makes the Wichita Falls and North Texas region a dynamic area for telling great stories. Our staff strives to produce award-winning journalism unmatched by newspapers of our size.


We offer a competitive base salary and career growth opportunities. We also offer you a comprehensive benefits package which includes medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, Paid Time Off, Company Paid Holidays, employee discount programs and domestic partner benefits. Our 401(k) is top-notch and the contributions you make up to the first 5% are eligible for a 100% company match.




Application Instructions:


When applying, please include a single document with as much of the following as possible: a brief cover letter explaining your interest and fit for the position, your updated resume, and portfolio/clips/links to a few samples of your work. It’s important that these items be assembled into a single document, preferably in PDF format. The application will only allow one document upload. Completing these steps will ensure that you receive the highest consideration.

 

I can answer questions about the position.

Frankly, we have had a bit of turnover in the past couple years, going from a four-man to a two-man staff. You'll be replacing Zach Duncan, who is leaving of his own free will.

The main beat is area high school football, and it's a large area. As a two-man staff, we kind of tackle every other sport together, although I do most of the work on basketball.

There are opportunities to cover pro sports, including Dallas Cowboys home games. We've had a presence at the Cotton Bowl for years, too. It's less than a two-hour drive from Arlington, so covering any DFW-based pro team is possible. Of course, high school coverage comes first.

Zach wasn't the sports editor and I'm not going have that job title, either. Gannett switched to a regional sports editor earlier this year, so we report to Len Hayward in Corpus Christi. Len is great and he's let us continue to cover our area the way that's worked for us the past five years.

You can ask questions here or message me directly. I can be reached by email at jonathan.hull@timesrecordnews.com

 

Super interested and applied. I hope to hear back.

 

Jonathan and Zach have done such a great job of covering Wichita Falls stuff. Both are true pros. This is a good preps gig.