Metro Reporter, General Assignment

The Seattle Times, a family-owned news organization and one of the nation’s premier regional news sources, is seeking a driven general assignment Metro Reporter. This job focuses on breaking news during the weekends and the evenings. The reporter must be flexible and eager to handle general assignments and breaking news duties such as crime, traffic, weather, accidents, obituaries, demonstrations and live updates. There’s also the expectation of additional enterprise and features coverage that explores our unique corner of the country.

Responsibilities:

Cover a wide range of topics with the ability to quickly come up to speed on unfamiliar subjects.
Work with an assistant metro editor and the broader metro team to make fast decisions to prioritize news needs, then report and write quickly while being fair, balanced and accurate.
Report and write guides and explainers that can benefit readers now and well into the future.
Be inclusive in coverage, developing a range of sources and story ideas that fairly represent the rich cultural diversity of our region.
Work with colleagues in Photo, Graphics/Interactives and the Digital Audience Team to coordinate visuals and digital assets for stories.
Be a good team member. This reporter will work with other breaking news reporters. We pride ourselves on trusting and supporting each other and being flexible during unexpected moments of need.

Qualifications

We are committed to diversity and creating an inclusive newsroom and encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply. If your profile doesn’t match this job description exactly, you may still be a candidate for this position. Please let us know how your skills and experience relate to the role and its objectives.

Experience: At least one year of experience working as a reporter for a newsgathering organization.
Education: Bachelor’s degree or relevant equivalent experience.
Requires excellent grammar and language skills, and familiarity with digital news production, social media and analytics.
Must be able to analyze facts and make judgments about relevance, newsworthiness, fairness, etc., under pressure and on deadline.
Must have the ability to write clearly, accurately and creatively.
Be able to work in high-pressure situations when big news hits and deadlines are tight.
Be willing to try new story topics and formats and evaluate and learn from the outcomes of those experiments, always with an eye toward reaching audiences and driving subscriptions.
Cultural competence and awareness of best practices related to inclusive journalism.
Must understand and uphold the standards, ethics and mission of journalism at The Seattle Times.

Compensation: The full salary range is $60,000 to $101,500. For this position, we typically pay between $60,000 to $75,000, depending on experience and qualifications.