Breaking News Reporter
Job description
The LNP Media Group, Inc. family of print and digital publications, part of Steinman Communications, is the biggest and most influential provider of news in Lancaster County, with a history of 225 years of excellence. We are in search of a tech-savvy and driven journalist to join our talented team.
The breaking news journalist, under the Digital Team Leader, serves a digital audience that values immediacy and pays for almost instant access to breaking news about Lancaster County. The breaking news reporter is highly mobile, analytical, versatile, always on deadline and skilled at interviews as well as telling stories from the field with video, photos, social media and text. The reporter understands that breaking news occurs across all newsroom topics – politics, entertainment, business, education, food, police and local government, for example. The breaking news reporter’s primary responsibility is to investigate and tell readers what’s happening as it’s happening using all available publishing tools and platforms.
Reporters for LNP Media Group exercise creative, strong news judgment and news-gathering capabilities to provide up-to-the-minute information across the company’s digital platforms and insightful, contextual and analytical journalism for LNP | LancasterOnline. Reporters are expected to research, develop authoritative sources in the community, collaborate with other LNP and LancasterOnline journalists and identify stories that are compelling to this community news organization’s audience. Reporters are also expected to meet the demands of a growing digital audience by routinely using social media, shooting photographs and video, and understanding how to post their work using a content-management system.
Day and night/weekend shifts are currently available.
Reporting
· Organizes materials, determines focus and writes stories according to prescribed editorial style and format standards, both for the newspaper and online.
· Makes use of all available tools to generate accurate, timely and compelling content and may be required to do so with a digital-first mentality; with attention to both detail and deadlines.
· Builds expertise in a particular beat through research, experience and growing a network of relevant contacts in the community.
· Regularly curates and aggregates content from other sources and presents them to our audience with additional commentary or explanation.
Digital & social media
· Tracks metrics and conversations on the materials they’ve created to optimize results and shape future work toward that audience.
· Strives to keep our organization at the leading edge of online, mobile and social-network use and innovation.
· Actively builds a social media presence, which includes not just posting content, but also engaging with our audience.
· Thinks visually: Takes photos and shoots/edits video to accompany stories as needed.
· Takes responsibility for his or her own content, in terms of posting it online and subsequently being an aggressive marketer of that content across all relevant platforms.
In addition to the essential functions listed above, the employee is expected to exercise honesty, integrity and respect with all clients and co-workers, preserve confidentially of all business information and data, maintain a professional appearance and demeanor, demonstrate a positive attitude, communicate effectively with co-workers and clients, work with accuracy, efficiency, and attention to detail, respect the work environment and keep it as environmentally friendly as possible, and exercise initiative to learn new skills and tasks and to help co-workers when possible. Reliable attendance and punctuality are also required. The employee is also expected to perform other related duties, special projects and functions as required from time to time.
Qualifications:
· Bachelor’s degree in journalism, English, mass communications or related field is required, with a proven knowledge and experience working with current media creation tools and contemporary newsroom systems, producing digital and print content, preferred.
· May be required to meet AP writing style, depending on the publication.
· Solid understanding of news writing, storytelling, journalistic ethics and story structure.
· Must be able to work nights and weekends as necessary.
· Team player who enjoys a fast-paced work environment.
· Wishes to work in a business environment in which every employee seeks to be great every day
Interested in joining the LNP newsroom? LNP offers an exceptional benefits package with company subsidized medical, dental and vision insurance within 30 days of start, company paid short term disability and life insurance, and a company match for 401(K) contributions after 30 days of employment.
Job Type: Full-time