Douglas County General Assignment Reporter

Douglas County General Assignment Reporter

Salary: Full-time with benefits; $16.50-$18/hour, depending on experience

Colorado Community Media seeks an ambitious general assignment reporter for its Douglas County beat, which covers the communities of Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch and Lone Tree. The ideal candidate is a creative newshound who can create stories for both print and digital platforms. If you have a love for chasing down local, community news that matters to hometown readers, we would like to hear from you.

The ideal candidate will:

• Write engaging and informative news and feature stories for the web and for Colorado Community Media weekly print editions.
• Possess the ability to generate multiple stories each week on a variety of topics by developing sources, searching for fresh angles and digging deep into community news — photo and video skills to enhance storytelling are a plus.
• Demonstrate the effective use of social media tools to source stories, boost audience engagement and drive traffic to website and print products.
• Work under a daily mindset that requires the ability to turn stories around quickly, meet deadlines and handle breaking news as it happens.
• Be self-motivated with excellent time management and communication skills. 
• Work collaboratively with other reporters on shared editorial projects.
• Engage with readers through online commenting, attendance at newspaper and community events and social media interactions.

Position responsibilities: 

• Cover Douglas County with occasional overlap in Arapahoe and Jefferson counties. 
• Create a weekly coverage plan for writing and photography in the communities of Highlands Ranch, Castle Rock and Lone Tree. Common story topics in a week would include:
  • Coverage of local government and community boards, significant community events and breaking news
  • Regular business and personality profiles 
  • Culture features
  • Long-term investigative and team projects

Position requirements:

• Journalism degree or equivalent experience
• Must be available to work some nights and weekends
• Familiarity with content management systems, Microsoft Office and AP style
• Digital photography experience is preferred; video skills are a plus.
• Must have a current driver’s license or the ability to get one.

At Colorado Community Media, we will consider both seasoned and entry-level applicants as long as you’re committed to producing stories that connect with our readers. 

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We’re committed to building an inclusive organization that represents the people and communities we serve. We encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, veterans, LGBTQ people and people with disabilities.

How to Apply

Colorado Community Media is accepting applications for this position via Open Media Foundation’s Career Engine service. Applicants should send a cover letter,  resume and three published writing clips to [email protected] using “Douglas County General Assignment Reporter” in the subject line. Phone or in-person applications will not be accepted. The application deadline for this position is three weeks after the posting date of this announcement.