The Times
Sports Production Journalist (Casual)
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Sports Production Journalist (Casual)
The Times sport desk is looking for a sharp, adaptable journalist to join its production team as a freelancer.
This role would suit someone at the beginning of their career who wants to develop into an all-round digital and print production journalist. You may be a recent NCTJ graduate, have experience on a regional or local title or have gained relevant newsroom experience through placements, freelancing, student journalism or digital production.
The sport desk is staffed from 7am to post-midnight seven days a week and we expect freelancers to work their fair share of weekend and evening shifts. Depending on the shift, you could be writing social media copy, running live blogs during major sporting events, subbing articles, producing content for digital platforms or working on The Times’ print and tablet editions.
We are looking for someone with strong editorial skills: excellent news judgment, accuracy, clean writing and an eye for detail. You should be able to produce sharp headlines and standfirsts, and make sensible editorial decisions under pressure.
We are particularly interested in candidates with experience of producing social media content and running live blogs. You should be able to identify the strongest angle of a story, write concise and engaging copy for different platforms, and produce interesting and timely updates during live events.
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The ideal candidate will have experience of operating digital publishing platforms and be quick to learn different roles of our production process, which requires a prerequisite level of digital confidence. You should be comfortable moving between different jobs during a shift and have the initiative to work things out while knowing when to ask for support.
What we’re looking for from you:
- NCTJ training or equivalent journalism experience
- Strong subbing, writing and proofreading skills
- Good news judgment and attention to detail
- Experience working quickly on live and breaking stories
- Experience in social media, live blogging and digital publishing
- A broad interest and knowledge of sport
- The ability to learn new systems and workflows quickly
- A flexible, calm and collaborative approach to work
- The initiative to work independently and contribute to a busy team
News UK is one of the leading media businesses in the UK and Ireland. Our newsbrands include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun, The Sun on Sunday and The TLS. Our national broadcast brands include talkSPORT, Times Radio and Virgin Radio UK, and we have market-leading local stations across Ireland. Our world-famous brands provide news, analysis, opinion and entertainment to almost 40 million people each month. Spanning print and pixel, audio and video, events and experiences, our multi-format brands are home to a plurality of opinion, representing the diverse communities we serve. Driven by passion, guided by principles and acting with purpose, we exist to promote a fair society, freedom of speech and a little bit of fun. Rethinking continually the business of storytelling, we represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter.
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We are committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process. If you require reasonable adjustments due to a disability or health condition at any stage of your application or interview, please let us know. You can contact us at careers@news.co.uk to discuss how we can support you to perform at your best.
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