VILLAGES REPORTER
The award-winning Newbury Weekly News is looking to hire a community reporter on a two-year fixed term contract as part of the Community News Project (CNP) – a partnership between Facebook, local news publishers and the National Council for the Training of Journalists.
Previous journalism experience or education is not essential. We want people who care about their communities and want to make a difference in local communities.
Key responsibilities
West Berkshire makes up more than 50 per cent of the Royal County of Berkshire and more than 70 per cent of the district is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and it is home to Lambourn’s horseracing industry. It is broadly made up of three main towns and scores of small villages across a vast rural landscape.
The villages community reporter will fully engage with the rural community, report its issues of concern and triumphs, and champion its causes.
Ideally, we want to employ a trainee who has experience of living in a rural environment and the challenges that entails.
You will receive in-house training, as well as NCTJ journalism training with the aim of becoming a fully-trained journalist.
The previous CNP villages reporter achieved the NCTJ Gold Standard in his preliminary exams and went on to take the National Qualification in Journalism which would make him a fully-qualified senior reporter.
The ideal candidate.
We are looking for a highly-motivated individual to join our busy and friendly news team covering the villages in West Berkshire.The successful candidate will be enthusiastic, with a keen news sense, positive attitude and a commitment to our rural community. You may have completed the NCTJ preliminary exams, including shorthand and media law, or you may have no prior journalistic training, which would be provided via the Community News Project. As the job involves constant travel to and from remote rural communities a full driving licence and car is essential for this role.
You will need to have at least five GCSEs, including maths and English at grade C or above (or equivalent). We will also welcome people who are currently doing a completely different job – and want to make a career change to become a journalist. We are looking for an individual who enjoys writing and is capable of completing a short literacy test.
Package description
In addition to a competitive salary, dependent on prior qualifications and experience, there is 25 days annual leave. We are committed to equal opportunity for all. We may collect relevant data for monitoring as part of the candidate registration process.
You will be required to complete the NCTJ equal opportunities monitoring form before you are offered an interview. You will be forwarded a link to this on receipt of your CV. The form will be separated from your application on receipt and it is used for monitoring and auditing processes only and will play no part in the recruitment process.
Please send your CV and a covering letter explaining why you are the best person for this job to group editor Andy Murrill at andy.murrill@newburynews.co.uk
The closing date for applications is December 23, 2021.
Newbury Weekly News is an independent local newspaper covering West Berkshire and the surrounding area.
Newbury News Ltd promotes equal opportunities.