Culture Reporter

Chron is looking for a Culture Reporter who’s focused on what Houston is talking about today—from debates on whether Texas is part of the South, to the difference between natives and “Newstonians,” they’ll cover culturally relevant news from a Texas perspective, profile local personalities, cover celebrities passing through town, and find unique stories that celebrate the city. The ideal candidate can quickly write breaking news and drive cultural conversations surrounding Houston’s people, neighborhoods and events. We count on our Culture Reporter for everything from quick coverage of surprising moments to news about Houston subcultures, disputes taking place on social media, thoughtfully reported features, and nostalgic evergreens about Houston’s odd history. We’re looking for someone who can feed Houston’s audience and be Chron’s voice in on-going cultural conversations. Chron’s Culture Reporter should have a strong background writing and reporting, be able to type and publish stories quickly, and be eager to craft new angles on the daily news and find stories no one else is covering.

Your duties on the team:

Pitch, report and write 8-10 high-quality quick hits, news and feature stories each week that take an innovative approach to covering the Houston's crowded culture and entertainment landscape.
Idea generation: Keep fresh ideas flowing to assure the site is fed with compelling content
Local/regional perspective: you know Houston and Texas Culture well, understand what residents care about and what readers will be excited to read and share
Reporting, writing and communications chops, particularly within news journalism
Facility with analytics tools and ability to unpack those metrics to spot areas of opportunity and audience growth
High metabolism for turning out must-read stories every day

Skills you would bring:

Pitch and report a mix of high-quality short news pieces enterprise stories and features
Write engaging articles that reflect sound reporting, voice and compelling headlines
Develop a wide range of sources and track news and politics in Houston and Texas
Work with editors to develop a beat that expands Chron’s coverage of Houston and deepens readers’ understanding of their city

Requirements:

2+ years of relevant experience in reporting and writing in digital media
Experience in, and understanding of, Texas
Solid writing and communication skills
Excellent news judgment and understanding of both media ethics and AP Style
Facility with content management systems and analytics tools like Google Trends