Today Desk Reporter
The Star Tribune is the Upper Midwest’s largest news organization, with audience numbers consistently in the top five in the country amongst regional and national peers. Building on an extraordinary legacy that includes seven Pulitzer Prizes and hundreds of other awards, the Star Tribune is an unrivaled force for journalistic excellence in Minnesota. It is also a company under transformation – realigning its core purpose for a new age of media consumption through innovative new partnerships, technology strategies, and a refreshed strategic direction. Our company has a new vision to create the leading model for local news in America – driving innovation in media to make every Minnesotan’s life better. We’re looking for dynamic leaders to help create that model. We’re excited to work with people who care about journalism and democracy and are eager to re-invent one of our state’s most trusted companies for a completely new era of growth that embraces new technologies and strategies for excellence.
Job Summary:
The Star Tribune is seeking aggressive, enterprising reporters for its Today Desk, a new department that will bring an added sense of urgency, creativity, collaboration and experimentation to the Star Tribune’s coverage of breaking and trending news, major events and issues.
Reporters on the Today Desk will cover a wide range of in-the-moment topics, charging at the stories Minnesotans are talking about with a clear and simple mission: Put the needs of our digital readers first.
To that end, the Today Desk will be a standalone department with its own leadership, staff, mission and goals. It will work closely with our Audience, Photo and Graphics teams, and collaborate with Metro, Sports, Business and Features. It will work with our colleagues in product and technology to develop new story forms focused on live and developing coverage. Although some of the stories it produces may be published in print, the needs of the newspaper will not dictate its day-to-day approach.
The ideal Today Desk reporter thrives in breaking news situations. You confirm and publish stories quickly, jump on timely updates and spot fresh angles that advance a story and keep readers coming back for more. You are equally adept turning out FAQs, service pieces and explainers as you are at writing live news updates. You bring your own ideas to our daily news meetings and make time to report them out even as you’re juggling other stories.
A few other qualities that would make you a good fit for this position:
Being a generalist is your superpower. You thrive when juggling a wide range of topics, and relish the opportunity to get up to speed quickly on anything thrown your way.
You welcome the challenge of working on some of the most important and sensitive news stories we cover at the Star Tribune, but you also can tell great character-driven and humorous tales.
You’re comfortable with analytics, SEO and other tools of a digital newsroom, and you know how to mine social media and search for stories, sources, questions and topics that the community is talking about.
You write quickly and well on deadline, but you also know when taking an extra day can elevate a good story into a great one.
You are creative and entrepreneurial; you don’t wait for assignments, you spot engaging story ideas and angles that many of us are missing.
You’re a collaborative reporter who likes being part of a high-energy team.
Qualifications:
You write clean, compelling copy on deadline
You are brimming with your own story ideas
You are digitally savvy and comfortable with audience analytics
You have a curious, audience-focused mindset
You are committed to coverage that represents and speaks to the breadth of Minnesota’s diversity
You are a team player committed to creating an inclusive workplace.
Schedule: Variable hours, including nights, weekends and holidays.