Digital Reporter Bristol, England
Job description
DIGITAL REPORTER, SWNS (junior or senior)
Start date – ASAP
Salary - DOE - approximately £23,000 - £30,000
Deadline – April 7 – but we will start interviewing before deadline, so early applicants at an advantage
Who are we?
Every day hundreds of stories, images and videos from SWNS are published and broadcast across the national and international media.
Our clients are the biggest news publishers in the world – Reach, DMGT, News UK, the BBC, ITN, Yahoo! and USAToday to name a few.
We cover breaking news, amazing human interest stories, consumer issues, health and scientific breakthroughs, and provide websites around the world with stunning imagery and viral videos.
Over the last six months, digital usages of SWNS content has skyrocketed, and we are producing some of the most-read content across multiple news sites every day.
News agencies have long provided the best training ground to hone your skills before taking your pick of a job at a national or international publication.
But many of our staff increasingly choose to grow their careers here – something we are very proud of.
So if you are ambitious, you’ve come to the right place.
The role
We are looking for a digital writer to start ASAP, to source and create content specifically for our digital clients – the biggest online publishers in the world.
We welcome all applications - from reporters looking for their first job, to experienced writers after their next challenge.
You will be based at our HQ in Bristol, finding, researching, and writing national and international digital news and feature stories from scratch, under the guidance or our experienced editors.
We don’t have a geographical patch, so create content from anywhere in the world - with a focus on UK and USA – largely using social media to find stories.
Successful candidates will have the flexibility of hybrid working, once they are settled into the role.
Ideal candidate
We’ve got big ambitions for our digital offering and we’re after candidates who will supercharge our efforts.
You must be obsessed with digital news. This means knowing the content digital publishers use – and why - and having a desire and ability to keep up with trends.
If you’ve got a journalism degree, an NCTJ qualification, shorthand, and a list of work experience as long as your arm, that’s brilliant. You should be immensely proud of your achievements - and we definitely want to hear from you.
But if you don’t, don’t let that put you off. We care much more about the person: their skills, qualities, drive, and ambition.
You should however have some experience sourcing and writing news stories – this could be writing for a national website or running your own blog.
Social media skills are a must. You should know your way around all the platforms and how to use them to source stories.
Human interest content – stories about the weird, wonderful, sad, inspirational and amazing things that happen to people – are our bread and butter. We write tons of breaking news, source viral videos, and cover politics, science, tech and consumer trends, but more often than not, this is done through the lens of a real person, sharing their story.
Often, you will be speaking to people about the worst or best things that have ever happened to them, and this will require maturity, respect and a very impressive phone manner.
You must be inquisitive and interested in the lives of people who might be very different to you.
Digital journalism is changing at such a fast pace. Editors will look to you to gain and share your constantly growing knowledge of the newest social media tools, the latest TikTok trend or the hot topic on Twitter.
You should be able to bring your own stories to the table every day, thanks to sourcing skills you already have, and will learn.
We have a strong team mentality at SWNS. We’re competitive with rivals when we need to be, but not with each other. You must be a team player – able to accept help, and help others, at all levels.
Organisation skills are a must. In time, you will be juggling dozens of stories every day, so you must be organised and disciplined.
We create content for a huge range of clients – the likes of LADbible, The Independent, Times Online, Mail Online and Have I Got News For You. Reporters should be proud to see their stories used by a massive range of publishers.
But - most importantly – you must be passionate about succeeding in the role. It’s hard work, but immensely fun.
Extra details
SWNS is a national living wage employer.
Recent studies show most UK journalism industry professionals come from white ethnic groups (92%) and from professional or upper-class backgrounds (80%). We want to continue to do our part to change this and welcome candidates from all backgrounds.
SWNS also has a generous and growing list of employee benefits, including:
- 25 days annual holiday plus Bank Holidays
- Overtime for weekend work
- Company pension scheme with employer contribution
- Hybrid working policy
- Enhanced maternity and paternity packages
- Life assurance scheme
- Shopping discount scheme, tech benefit scheme
- Gym membership discount, Cycle to Work
- Savings on childcare
Please apply with a covering letter explaining how you fit the criteria above, and why you want to work at SWNS, along with a CV.
Please reference ‘digital reporter’ role in the title of your email.
Job Type: Full-time
Salary: £23,000.00-£30,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Bereavement leave
- Casual dress
- Company events
- Company pension
- Cycle to work scheme
- Enhanced maternity leave
- Enhanced paternity leave
- Gym membership
- Life insurance
- On-site parking
- Sick pay
- Store discount
- Wellness programme
Schedule:
- 8 hour shift
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Bristol
Application deadline: 07/04/2023
