The Bay Area News Group (Mercury News/East Bay Times) is seeking an ambitious and versatile reporter to join our sports department as the Golden State Warriors beat writer, covering the team, its superstars and the NBA. Our reporters work for millions of online readers and hundreds of thousands of subscribers at our two daily newspapers. You should care about metrics that reflect readership and respond to the reactions of your online audience in real time.
Must be located in the South or East Bay Area.
What you will do:
Provide quick analysis in less than an hour after a game as well as deep-dive enterprise suitable for our digital and print platforms
Write hard-hitting analysis
Produce compelling feature stories on and off the court
Write and post quick takes, and provide regular weekly content that readers will come to rely on like weekly mailbags
Stay on top of breaking news on the beat, get the facts out quickly and then come back to the story with more in-depth reporting
Regularly travel with the team, work nights and weekends
Build relationships with the team to bring in exclusive content and/or breaking news
Meet digital and print deadlines
Be proactive in regular communication with your supervisor and colleagues
On no-access days, you might work on a longer enterprise piece in collaboration with our photo and graphics staff
Monitor your metrics and adjust your audience engagement strategy as needed
What you will bring:
3+ years of sports journalism experience
Deep knowledge of the NBA and basketball
Strong writing skills under deadline pressure
Ability to juggle multiple stories of varying complexity and to find and develop sources within the organizations
Strong grammatical skills and a working knowledge of the Associated Press stylebook
Proficiency at using social media to report stories and share them
Deep knowledge of local sports teams, past, present and future – and willingness to help on other beats
Solid sports news judgment
Excellent communication skills regardless of the platform (i.e. in-person, Slack, Zoom, email, texts, etc.)
Attention to detail and organization
Ability to work harmoniously with other departments (i.e. audience, photo and print production teams)
4-year college degree (journalism or related fields) required
Travel:
Approximately 75%, travel to all Warriors road games required
The hourly wage is $28.85 - $33.65 ($60,008 - $69,992). Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to education, work experience, time in role, certifications, etc. In addition to your salary, MediaNews Group offers a comprehensive benefits package, and 401K plan (all benefits are based on eligibility).