Community reporter for Western Maine

Description:

The Maine Trust for Local News is seeking an enterprising and energetic community reporter to join its Western Maine news staff. 

This reporter will cover general interest news in a geographic beat serving northern Franklin County, including the communities of Rangeley, Carrabassett Valley/Sugarloaf Mountain, New Vineyard, Strong, Avon and Kingfield. Coverage in these communities will focus on the public impact of housing and development; business openings/closings; food; municipal affairs; breaking news; things to do; and people.

Journalism produced from this coverage is regularly published in the Rangeley Highlander, Franklin Journal and Sun Journal, on Sunjournal.com, as well as on a per-story basis in other Maine Trust publications such as the Portland Press Herald, Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel. The community reporter will be responsible for curating a weekly newsletter that’s focused on interesting people, places and happenings in the region, and for posting daily web updates. 

This is a lively beat with a lot of news opportunities in a region that is a hub of Maine outdoor recreation and community pride. The position is ideal for an early-career journalist with an enthusiasm for Maine's many outdoor recreation opportunities.

The goal of this reporter is to be essential to each community they cover, being on-the-ground in their region regularly and making sure people know the reporter's name and how to reach them. They will closely monitor town Facebook groups, Next Door, Reddit and any other public areas of discussion for story ideas, including libraries and coffee shops. If there are questions we can answer being posed in these groups or at central gathering places, we will answer them with fact briefs or stories. Source development will be key for this reporter to stay on top of the latest town happenings and breaking news. This reporter will also help create and update guides for each town or region, from farmstands, trails, events, to places to eat, housing resources and more.

The community reporter must have excellent reporting and writing skills; a sense of urgency to beat the competition on developing news; comfort with a digital-first environment; a proven ability to file stories on deadline; and the ability to round out stories with depth and context. 

The Maine Trust for Local News prides itself on high standards of professionalism and community journalism that is meaningful to our readers. We are an equal-opportunity employer. Applicants should email a cover letter, resume and up to five writing samples to Deputy Managing Editor Marla Hoffman, at: mhoffman@metln.org.