Senior politics and government reporter

Description:

Swift Communications is seeking a politics and news reporter to cover the Colorado legislature during each session while contributing to reporting on mountain communities as part of our regional desk. This position works Monday to Friday and requires the reporter to be present at the Capitol Building in Denver during the annual legislative session.

With similar challenges, interests and economies across the Western Slope, the goal of the regional team is to deliver content to the newspaper group that is relevant to our markets but takes a broader, statewide and regional lens to supplement our hyper-local focus at each property. Through a mix of short news items and longform stories that help deepen our readers’ understanding of key issues affecting their lives, this team covers high-interest beats at a regional level through the creation of enterprise reporting, spot news, series, investigations and discussion pieces.

The position covers Swift Communications’ Colorado papers, including the Aspen Times, the Craig Daily Press, the Glenwood Springs Post Independent, Sky-Hi News, the Steamboat Pilot & Today, the Summit Daily and the Vail Daily.

 
The senior politics and government reporter is responsible for generating quality stories, photographs, videos and audio for the company’s websites, print newspapers, social media channels, magazines and special sections. The core functions of this role are to research, document, write and present the news in an honest, ethical, accurate and unbiased way[NM1] .

With a strong focus on Western Slope communities, regional reporters are required to attend various engagements based on their beats, including state department meetings, press conferences, shareholder calls and other public events that inform readers about important issues. Collaborating with our properties across the Western Slope and building relationships with state department heads, communication directors and public officials will be a strong focus of this team.

The optimal candidate will be a self-starter that can work independently and manage their flexible schedule to produce high quality content while also collaborating with other reporters.

Key Responsibilities:

·       Attend and cover legislative sessions at the Colorado Capitol Building

·       Research, conduct interviews and fact-check details in order to write 4-6 stories per week

·       Ensure stories are written in an honest, ethical, accurate and unbiased way

·       Execute the regional editor’s vision and content plan

·       Generate story ideas based on conversations with key sources, reviewing agendas, trends and documents while taking into consideration data on reader interest

·       File and request public documents and records

·       Collaborate with internal and external partners, including newsrooms and journalists from our company and outside of our company

·       Adhere to the regional reporting team workflow and meet all deadlines 

·       Attend staff meetings, update shared budgets and communicate effectively with editors

·       Edit and upload content in our content management system, with a strong attention to adding hyperlinks, photos, multimedia and fact boxes to stories

·       Cover all news with urgency and a digital-first mindset that favors getting news online quickly

·       Develop and cultivate relationships with key sources

·       Pick up other duties and help other properties that may need reporting assistance.

·       Mentor and help reporters at other properties

·       Travel to our various properties to develop relationships with those teams and the communities we are reporting about — and travel, as necessary, to cover key news stories

Qualifications:

·       Minimum 3 years at a daily newspaper

·       College degree and/or 10 years of on-the-job reporting experience

·       Valid driver's license and access to a reliable vehicle. 

Pay: $26.45 - $31.25 per hour dependent on experience. Competitive benefits include medical, dental, vision, life insurance after 60 days of employment, $500 Recreation Bonus after 6 months and 401k Plan after 1 year.

To apply, please send resume and sample writings to regionaleditorial@swiftcom.com.