News Reporter
The Huron Daily Tribune is a daily newspaper in Bad Axe, Michigan, seeks a digital-minded reporter to write for online and print publication with several deadlines throughout the day. As a reporter, you discover innovative ways to deliver quality and engaging content, collaborate with a diverse team and build authentic relationships with the community.
The position demands strong writing and reporting skills and good news judgment. A reporter needs to be able to self-assign, re-prioritize in real time and keep digital production first.
A reporter must strive to present an accurate, well-balanced explanation of the stories they cover, build an arsenal of contacts and make themselves known in the community for both breaking news items and more in-depth, enterprise stories.
The reporter submits stories daily and enriches stories with multimedia assets.
A reporter creates content to attract digital subscribers and to optimize content for digital audiences across web and social media platforms. A reporter is also responsible for finding news leads and further developing professional skills through company training.
Extensive knowledge of AP style writing is necessary in addition to trending style changes. Time management and basic knowledge of photography are a plus to the success of the position.
A reporter should have knowledge of social media platforms and ongoing events in addition to working in content management systems. Training available.
Staff meetings and communication for content planning purposes will occur.
Primary Responsibilities:
- Write a minimum of 10-15 bylines a week, at least one a day, enriched with multimedia assets.
- Write a variety of stories, including content for newspaper subscribers and non-subscribers.
- Write a minimum of one, well-researched enterprise story a quarter.
- Attend at least one staff meeting or equivalent discussion a day for content planning purposes.
- Shoot or attain photos or create other multimedia assets. Prepare and package content for online and print publication.
- Ability to learn content management systems quickly and effectively with appropriate internal training and external knowledge.
What are the measures of success for this position?
- Gather information, write and deliver news stories for print and online publication by seeking out leads, capitalizing on external knowledge and accepting assignments from the editor or associate editor.
- Build a loyal digital subscriber base by engaging with readership online and in the community.
- Explore alternate publishing strategies to enrich content and presentation (i.e., images, slideshows, specialized web templates, embedded content, timelines, hyperlinks, SEO writing and other multimedia assets).
- Write effective digital headlines that help attract audiences. Write engaging social posts that attract audiences and encourage readers to interact with social content.
- Revise work to meet editorial approval for publication-readiness, including clarity, fairness, legality, spelling, grammar, punctuation and style.
- Participate in internally offered training and other development opportunities.
- Use metrics to monitor real-time traffic, identify patterns and make informed content decisions.
- Stay up-to-date with the latest current events and trends.
- Communicate effectively with the newsroom and leadership both in-office and in the field.
- Manage workflow to meet deadlines and work collaboratively with team to find solutions.
Qualifications:
- The ideal candidate will have a bachelor’s in communications, journalism or equivalent in experience and/or education.
- Strong news judgment, knowledge of AP style and SEO best practices.
- Understand written sentences, paragraphs and headline writing in work related documents to communicate effectively as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Follow the law, especially regarding the confidentiality and privacy of the people they interview or write about.
About Hearst Midwest Media Group
By joining the Manistee News Advocate, a publication of Hearst Midwest, a multimedia reporterbecomes a family member of a media group that produces news with a hyper-local purpose.
With one of the oldest news gathering media in Michigan and Illinois – Hearst Midwest Community Group – and our corresponding news websites, we have a serious journalistic commitment to provide local, watchdog and investigative reporting that impacts the areas we serve.
Hearst is one of the nation’s largest diversified media, information and services companies with more than 360 businesses. At Hearst, we offer all the industry’s leading benefits you need to both feel and be your best. From financial wellbeing to personal care, our programs are modern, flexible and designed to focus on the whole person. We want our employees to have a healthy, rewarding, balanced and meaningful experience — both at work and in life.
Skills Required
- Strong writing and reporting skills
- Good news judgment and ability to self-assign and re-prioritize in real time
- Knowledge of AP style
- Knowledge of SEO best practices and ability to write SEO-optimized headlines
- Bachelor's in communications, journalism or equivalent experience/education
- Experience with content management systems (ability to learn CMS quickly)
- Knowledge of social media platforms and ability to write engaging social posts
- Ability to produce or obtain multimedia assets (photos, embeds, slideshows, timelines)
- Basic photography knowledge
- Ability to monitor and use web metrics/analytics to inform content decisions
- Meet production targets (10-15 bylines weekly; one enterprise story quarterly) and daily deadlines
Hearst Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Hearst and has not been reviewed or approved by Hearst.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is described as comprehensive, including medical plan choice, full in-network preventive coverage, dental and vision, telemedicine, prescription coverage, and fertility resources. Mental-health resources and other wellbeing services (e.g., therapy sessions, crisis support, virtual physical therapy, and chronic-condition programs) further strengthen the health offering.
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Retirement Support — Retirement support is positioned as meaningful through a 401(k) plan with company matching and Hearst covering plan administration fees. Performance bonuses are also noted as available in some roles, adding an additional rewards component beyond base pay.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time-off benefits include paid holidays, paid sick days, and vacation time with a commonly cited annual range, alongside paid parental leave and family medical leave. A remote work program and flexibility signals are also included as part of the overall rewards experience.
Hearst Insights
What We Do
Hearst is a leading global, diversified media, information and services company with more than 360 businesses. Its major interests include ownership in cable television networks such as A&E, HISTORY, Lifetime and ESPN; global financial services leader Fitch Group; Hearst Health, a group of medical information and services businesses; transportation assets including CAMP Systems International, a major provider of software-as-a-service solutions for managing maintenance of jets and helicopters; 33 television stations such as WCVB-TV in Boston and KCRA-TV in Sacramento, California, which reach a combined 19 percent of U.S. viewers; newspapers such as the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle and Times Union (Albany, New York); more than 300 magazines around the world, including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Men's Health and Car and Driver, and digital services businesses such as iCrossing and KUBRA; and investments in emerging digital entertainment companies such as Complex Networks.
