Napa County Education & General Assignment Reporter
The Pulitzer Prize-winning Press Democrat -- the voice of California’s Sonoma and Napa counties, and the North Bay -- seeks a curious, hard-charging reporter to join our growing team of journalists covering Napa County. The ideal candidate for this general assignment/education reporting position will have a proven track record of writing clearly, quickly, and concisely, as well as producing enterprise and long-term stories. Besides covering the county’s five public school systems and private and charter schools, this reporter periodically will be called on to cover the “story of the day” and, in some cases, breaking news. This journalist will also collaborate with three other members of the Napa team.
Responsibilities:
The ideal journalist for this role will . . .
• Be a “go anywhere, do anything” reporter who can churn out copy quickly. This includes posting a paragraph or two in breaking-news situations and then updating stories over time.
• Write stories of varying lengths, including “alternative story formats” that answer readers’ questions and provide quicker takes on sometimes complicated topics.
• Have the ability to provide all elements for a breaking news story, e.g. text, photos, and video.
• Be a team player who takes direction well and works collaboratively with editors, reporters, photographers and The Press Democrat audience team to tell stories that attract readers and retain subscribers.
• Have experience covering school board and/or municipal government meetings, with an eye toward writing meeting stories that tell community members how decisions impact them and their families.
• Have familiarity covering the state of California’s public education system, including mining public records for stories.
• Promote their stories from their own social media feeds, as well as the stories of their colleagues.
• Make every effort to cover all sides of the story -- and report in a manner that keeps professionalism, diversity, equity and inclusion top of mind.
Qualifications:
• College degree in journalism or an applicable field.
• At least three years’ reporting experience, with internships being counted toward those three years.
• Ability to write with clarity and authority in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficiency in AP style and grammar.
• Ability to work evenings and, in some cases, weekends.
• Residency within – or near – Napa County.
• Ability to use one’s automobile to cover assignments, valid CA driver’s license, etc.
• Ability to speak Spanish preferred (but not required).
Sonoma Media Investment values the contribution of our employees and offers a competitive compensation plan. We also offer an array of benefits, including medical, dental, vision, 401K and Paid Time Off.
Any job offer is conditional upon satisfactorily completing a pre-employment background investigation.
The pay scale is $27.26 - $33.81 per hour, depending on years of experience, as outlined in the Pacific Media Workers Guild Contract. To be considered, apply on our company career page at www.sonomamediainvestments.com/jobs and please submit a cover letter, resume and links to -- or PDFs of -- four to six samples of your journalism. This not only can be conventional stories, but photos, videos and other pieces of journalism. Show us your range of reporting.
About The Press Democrat
The Press Democrat is the flagship of Sonoma Media Investments, a locally owned and debt-free media company with more than 80 journalists across seven publications. This position is based in Napa County, California, in the heart of California’s Wine Country. Sonoma Media Investments is an Equal Opportunity Employer
