Reporter/Photographer

Award-winning, independently-owned daily newspaper in central New Hampshire, with 16,000 free circulation, is looking for a reporter/photographer. Beyond meetings, explain what local governments are doing and why, and how it relates to the readers. Profile people, telling their stories with empathy and meaning. Cover local politics in a way that encourages people to engage and vote. Be willing to dig into an investigative piece while still filing daily spot news stories. Report court and police stories accurately, but clearly and free from jargon. Take news and feature photographs worthy of the front page.

This is an ideal job for a reporter hungry to break into daily news or a veteran journalist eager to dive more deeply into complex issues. Salary is commensurate with experience. Send cover letter, resume and clips to Julie Hirshan Hart at julie@laconiadailysun.com.

Details

As a reporter, your responsibility is to collect and analyze information of interest to the community. Your reporting emphasizes solutions rather than merely pointing out problems. Your reporting includes government meetings and breaking news in addition to features on people and subjects the community cares about.

To help your readers understand complex issues they care about, you strive to identify community problems and to find solutions to those problems. You do more than answer who, what, why, where, when and how, you put the news into context for your readers.

You convey your reporting to the public through our newspaper, website and various related niche media. You gather information, conduct interviews, take photos, write and first-pass edit content primarily for print and web distribution, though you may be asked to disseminate information via social media or other technological means from time to time.

The editors may assign a specific coverage area, or you may be asked to work independently or with a team of other reporters, generally or on specific assignments.

You are expected to know your community so that you can anticipate coverage needs. You are expected to develop sources who help you to be well informed of the goings-on in your community. Ensuring timely coverage of events and issues important to the community means you are generating stories even without specific assignments from the editors. You should come to news meetings prepared to discuss your community and ready to offer ideas for features that would interest your readers.

As an excellent writer who understands the basics of AP style, grammar, spelling and punctuation, you are expected to file your stories free of factual and grammatical errors by assigned deadlines. You possess outstanding research skills and pay particular attention to details, enabling you to produce content in a clear, concise, conversational tone that your readers appreciate.

When you file your stories, you suggest headlines, pull quotes and even follow-up opportunities. You include photos or other illustrations, and all related cutline information, so that the editors can provide your readers the most complete coverage.