Breaking News Reporter

The Island Packet is seeking an aggressive journalist who can deliver exclusive reporting that informs and engages readers in the region. The reporter will be expected to move fast when news breaks while producing deeper stories that make a difference in the lives of our readers by holding officials accountable and unearthing the impact of their actions.

The reporter will have a demonstrated commitment to fairness and accuracy, in fact and in tone, and a strong grounding in journalism ethics. And like all journalists at The Island Packet, the reporter must have demonstrated the desire and skills to build audience loyalty, engagement and growth around compelling public service journalism.

At The Packet the reader comes first, last and always. Serving readers in a crowded media marketplace means becoming the best and most relevant source of journalism that matters to them - and ensuring that our work reaches them, wherever they are. This will require a keen understanding of what’s important to local readers, developed through reporting on and familiarity with the region; through the extensive use of reader analytics such as social media referrals and time spent on a story; and through a constant awareness of what people are sharing and talking about on social media.

It will require not just the ability to build sources and ferret out facts, but also a talent for framing, writing, shooting, producing and promoting a story via search and social media to ensure that it reaches and resonates with our readers. It will require a demonstrated commitment to change - to constantly adapting to the ever-evolving ways in which readers seek out and interact with journalism. And it will require enthusiastic participation in ongoing conversations about what’s working and what’s not - and an equally enthusiastic commitment to adapting accordingly.

Minimum requirements:

• Strong writing and reporting skills and excellent news judgment
• Unwavering commitment to accurate, ethical journalism
• Demonstrated ability to use social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to reach 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
• 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. The new workflows require constant conversations between reporters and editors and between reporters and their audience as a story evolves.
• Demonstrated ability to work comfortably in a job that will be fast-paced, data-driven, shaped constantly by feedback and experimentation and always evolving

Education & experience:

• College degree preferred.
• At least 1 year of local news experience