Title: General Assignment Reporter
Are you a curious, ambitious journalist with a passion for telling stories that matter? Do you thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced newsroom? Join our team at The Telegraph in Alton, Illinois, and help strengthen local news coverage with impactful, community-focused reporting.
Why The Telegraph?
Located in suburban St. Louis on the Illinois side — with a stunning view of the Mississippi River right from our newsroom — The Telegraph is a leader in covering the Metro East suburbs. Our team is committed to journalism that informs, engages, and holds institutions accountable. We offer a supportive environment where reporters can grow, experiment, and create meaningful work.
Job Description
We are seeking an energetic, versatile General Assignment Reporter to join our newsroom. The ideal candidate is eager to pursue a mix of daily reporting, enterprise work, and accountability journalism. This role will focus on local government and business coverage, while also contributing to breaking news, quick-turn stories, and longer-term investigative pieces. The person in this position should have strong news judgment, an ability to spot compelling stories, and a desire to learn and grow in a collaborative newsroom.
What will you do?
- Report and Write: Cover key local issues with a focus on government, business, and community impact. Produce clear, engaging stories for digital and print platforms.
- Enterprise & Investigative Reporting: Develop deeper, context-rich stories that go beyond the news of the day to explain why issues matter and how they affect local readers.
- Breaking News: Jump on breaking news as needed, providing timely, accurate reporting and updates.
- Quick-Turn Meeting Coverage: Cover evening or nighttime public meetings periodically, filing clean, quick-turn stories on tight deadlines.
- Crime Coverage: Report on crime and public safety stories as needed, ensuring accuracy, context, and sensitivity.
- Digital Storytelling: Use photos, videos, live updates, and other digital tools to enhance coverage and engage audiences.
- Collaboration: Work closely with editors, writers, and other newsroom teams to produce impactful journalism.
- Audience Awareness: Monitor local and regional news, social media trends, and reader interests to identify strong story opportunities.
What will it take to be successful?
- Published Work: A portfolio of published stories (student publications or professional outlets accepted).
- Writing Skills: Ability to write with clarity, accuracy, and authority.
- News Judgment: Strong sense of what makes a compelling local story that resonates with readers.
- Initiative: A self-starter eager to learn, pitch ideas, and pursue stories independently.
- Collaboration: Willingness to work with editors and peers in a fast-paced, evolving newsroom.
- Education: A bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, or a related field preferred, but equivalent experience and published work will also be considered.
- Technical Skills: Familiarity with digital publishing, multimedia tools, and social media is a plus.
- Location: Must be based in the region or willing to relocate.
Our Benefits
At Hearst Newspapers, we support employees through personal and professional development and believe in promoting physical, financial, and emotional well-being — for you and your family. Our industry-leading benefits include:
- Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage
- Competitive retirement plan with employer match in most markets
- Generous Paid Time Off, including holidays and vacation
- Paid Parental Leave for new parents
- Monthly Child & Dependent Care Reimbursement
- Mental wellness benefits
- LGBTQ+ & inclusive health services
- Fertility coverage & menopause support
- Pet wellness reimbursement & Rover credits
- And more — click here for full benefits details.
About The Telegraph
Founded in 1836, The Telegraph has long served the Metro East region as a trusted, award-winning source of local journalism. With deep roots in the community, we cover the people, policies, and issues shaping life in and around Alton, Madison County, and the broader Metro East area.
About Hearst Newspapers
Hearst Newspapers has 2,500 employees nationwide and includes 28 daily and 50 weekly publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News, and Albany Times Union. We continue to invest in innovative ways to tell stories — growing newsrooms, evolving platforms, and expanding the tools journalists use to serve millions of readers.
In accordance with applicable law, Hearst is required to include a reasonable estimate of the compensation for this role if hired in the state of Illinois. The reasonable estimate, if hired in Illinois is $35,360. Please note this information is specific to those hired in Illinois. If this role is open to candidates outside of Illinois, the salary range would be aligned to that specific location. A final decision on the successful candidate’s starting salary will be based on a number of permissible, non-discriminatory factors, including but not limited to skills and experience, training, certifications, and education.
#LI-BV1
Skills Required
- Published portfolio of stories; student publications or professional outlets accepted
- Ability to write clearly, accurately, and authoritatively
- Strong news judgment
- Initiative to learn, pitch ideas, and pursue stories independently
- Willingness to collaborate in a fast-paced newsroom
- Bachelor's degree in journalism, communications, or a related field
- Equivalent experience and published work
- Familiarity with digital publishing, multimedia tools, and social media
- Must be based in the region or willing to relocate
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.
