The Houston Chronicle is looking for a digitally savvy reporter to cover Texas A&M and one of the most passionate fan bases in college sports. This is a role for a journalist who understands that Aggie athletics is more than scores and press conferences. It’s a year-round online conversation shaped by recruiting drama, fan reaction, coaching speculation, traditions, memes, social media and the rapidly changing business of college athletics.
We’re looking for someone who can move quickly, spot stories before they fully break and connect with audiences wherever they are — including social platforms, YouTube and video. The ideal candidate understands internet culture, thrives in a competitive news environment and knows how to turn complicated college sports developments into smart, accessible journalism that fans want to read, watch and share.
This reporter will cover Texas A&M athletics with urgency, creativity and authority, helping shape one of the Chronicle’s most visible and audience-driven coverage areas.
Key responsibilities- Deliver timely, audience-focused coverage of Texas A&M athletics that goes beyond game recaps and press conferences
- Break news on recruiting, coaching changes, NIL developments, conference shifts and the evolving business of college sports
- Identify and cover trending conversations, fan reactions and online moments shaping the Texas A&M community
- Live-blog football and key volleyball, baseball and softball games
- Produce smart analysis and explainers that help readers understand major stories and developments in college athletics
- Collaborate with video and audience teams to create video content for social platforms, YouTube and Chronicle platforms, including quick reactions, explainers and analysis
- Use analytics, search trends and audience insights to guide coverage decisions and identify opportunities for growth
- Write and produce a Texas A&M newsletter
- Collaborate with photographers, videographers, editors and audience strategists to create engaging, multiplatform storytelling
- Build sourcing across the athletic department, the college sports landscape and the Texas A&M community
- Travel as assigned for major games, SEC events and key coverage opportunities
- Has three to five years of relevant sports reporting experience, ideally covering college athletics or another highly competitive, audience-driven beat
- Understands the culture of college sports fandom and how online communities shape conversations around teams and athletes
- Is comfortable reporting quickly and accurately in a fast-moving digital news environment
- Has strong instincts for social storytelling, audience engagement and identifying stories that fans care deeply about
- Is comfortable on camera and capable of creating compelling video explainers, reactions and analysis
- Thinks creatively about storytelling formats and embraces experimentation across platforms
- Is collaborative, audience-focused and committed to producing accurate, high-quality journalism under deadline pressure
- Breaking news and producing must-read coverage that stands out in the competitive college sports landscape
- Growing audience engagement across platforms, including social, search, newsletters and video
- Building a loyal readership among Texas A&M fans and broader college sports audiences
- Creating content that consistently sparks conversation, drives sharing and strengthens the Chronicle’s presence in Texas college sports coverage
- Helping readers better understand the culture, business and evolving future of college athletics
About the Houston Chronicle:
The Houston Chronicle, recognized for its Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism, serves its 2.3 million residents with content and marketing solutions across two of Houston’s largest websites — HoustonChronicle.com and Chron.com, along with our magazine, television and newspaper brands. Our mission is to spark conversations that inspire action to create a better Houston. All our content and the innovative business solutions we provide invite Houstonians to join conversations about a community we’ve been committed to covering and helping prosper for more than 120 years. The community we all call home.
About Hearst Newspapers:
With 2,500 employees across the nation, HNP encompasses a network of 24 daily and 52 weekly publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News and Albany Times Union, several top digital-only news and lifestyle sites, marketing services businesses, and entertainment businesses such as King Features Syndicate.
At HNP, we are investing in new and innovative ways to tell stories – growing newsrooms, diversifying tools, evolving platforms – to support the millions of people who trust us each month to help them make decisions, take action and be inspired.
Be a part of something bigger – your headline awaits.
Recognizing the diverse needs of our candidates, if you are interested in applying for employment and need assistance or an accommodation to use our website or regarding the application process, please contact us by email at [email protected]. Please do not use this email address to inquire about the status of applications. We will only respond to inquiries concerning requests for a reasonable accommodation through this email address.
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Skills Required
- Three to five years of relevant sports reporting experience
- Ability to report quickly and accurately in a fast-moving digital news environment
- Understanding of college sports fandom and online communities
- Strong social storytelling and audience engagement instincts
- Ability to identify stories that matter to fans
- Comfort appearing on camera and creating video explainers, reactions, and analysis
- Creative approach to storytelling formats and willingness to experiment across platforms
- Collaborative, audience-focused approach
- Commitment to accurate, high-quality journalism under deadline pressure
- Experience covering college athletics or another highly competitive, audience-driven beat
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.
