Statewide Economic Reporter (MLive.com)
Are you looking for a company that embraces innovative ideas and talented people? MLive.com is looking for a news reporter to join its statewide team. The position entails a mix of breaking news as well as deeper dives into the issues of the Economy that most affect Michiganders. The right candidate will be versatile, adaptable and a self-starter. MLive is a highly innovative, digital news organization where experimentation and flexibility are a must. We are leaders in digital news, yet we are grounded in the ethics of solid journalism.
The job requires someone comfortable with CMS tools, multimedia, social media, and engagement
Requirements for the role:
- Degree in Journalism or Communications or related field preferred
- Minimum of 3 year of journalism experience preferred
- Proven experience building, maintaining and engaging an active audience
- Ability to work independently under deadline pressure and prioritize tasks appropriately
- Demonstrated reporting, writing and organizational skills
- Solid understanding of news writing, journalistic ethics and story structure
- Experience with search engine optimization practices
- Experience with using social media to source and promote content a plus
- Demonstrated capability in capitalizing on high-value topics by engaging audiences in frequency and urgency
- Understanding of the methods and tools used to deliver content across a variety of platforms
- Understanding imperatives of multiple platforms -- print, mobile, Internet, etc.
- Mastery of social media and digital interaction
- Proven ability to utilize a broad set of tools to tell stories and engage the audience
- Ability to leverage relationships with sources to deliver content that differentiates the organization from competitors
- Ability to work independently and remotely
Duties include:
- Gather information and write journalistically sound news elements for use in all media platforms, existing and future, that is: balanced and factual; timely and topical; and, well --sourced and contextually correct
- Learn and employ all techniques for effective digital "beat-blogging" reporting across all platforms
- Post frequent and incrementally posting throughout the day
- Engage in story aggregation and topical link-posting
- Monitor and engage in reader comment streams on MLive story pages
- Elevate comments into new posts when appropriate
- Interact on social media platforms, with story shares, objective commentary, promoting your topic and news organization's content initiatives
- Effectively employ various means for monitoring audience interest and competitors' posting on your topic, including setting up Google alerts, Twitter and RSS feeds
- Maintain operational communication with editor and, when applicable, production center,
- Understand and use hardware, software and cloud-based equipment and systems for direct-to-web production and engagement, including but not limited to:
- a posting photographs and short videos to the web and any internal production systems
- remote web reporting, using laptops and smart phones
- Understand and use our news organization's audience traffic tracking systems and analytical reports
- Meet production deadlines
MLive Media Group is an audience-first, digitally focused media company encompassing all content, sales and marketing operations for: MLive.com, The Grand Rapids Press, The Muskegon Chronicle, Kalamazoo Gazette, The Jackson Citizen Patriot, The Ann Arbor News, The Flint Journal, The Saginaw News, The Bay City Times and the Advance Weeklies in Grand Rapids, as well as several related entities. In addition to being Michigan's #1 news and information provider, MLive Media Group is Michigan's largest local media advertising network, allowing advertisers to reach local audiences in communities across the state.
MLive Media Group is a part of Advance Local, one of the largest media groups in the United States, which operates the leading news and information companies in more than 24 cities, reaching 50+ million people monthly with our quality, real-time journalism and community engagement. Our company is built upon the values of Integrity, Collaboration, Accountability, Fearlessness, and Customer Focus. For more information about Advance Local, please visit www.advancelocal.com.
Advance Local is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, physical or mental impairment, sexual orientation, marital status or any other category protected under federal, state or local law.