Youth Sports Reporter

Strengthening and empowering all of the communities we serve. NJ.com is seeking a self-motivated Y outh Sports Reporter to build a first-of-its-kind coverage area for our high school sports team: New Jersey youth and travel sports. In this newly created role, you will expand our reporting beyond high school athletes and into the world of youth sports — covering athletes as young as 6 and up to high school age - across every sport and every corner of the state. This is a chance to help make NJ.com one of the only major media organizations in the country with a dedicated youth sports beat, reaching an entirely new audience of parents, coaches and young athletes. We're looking for someone who thrives on building something from the ground up: someone who can develop a wide network of contacts across travel programs and tournaments, turn that network into a steady stream of recaps, rankings and roundups, and spot the bigger stories — injury trends, scandals, tech innovations — shaping youth sports today. Live-streaming opportunities are also a major part of this beat, giving parents access to games they can't find anywhere else online. The base salary range for this role is $65,000-$75,000 annually. This role will require reliable transportation to attend games, tournaments and events across the state, and will include night and weekend hours. What you'll be doing: Cover youth and travel sports athletes (ages 6 to 14) across every sport statewide. Recap major tournaments, highlight top performers, and compile rankings on a regular basis. Report on the broader youth sports landscape, including injury trends, scandals and tech innovations. Build and maintain a network of contacts across travel programs and tournaments who supply game and tournament roundups. Help drive subscriptions by publishing the names and performances of hundreds of youth athletes across the state. Identify and pursue live-streaming opportunities for youth sporting events not currently available anywhere else online. Work collaboratively with the high school sports team to build out this coverage area from scratch. Engage with our audiences, as needed, on social media platforms. Our ideal candidate will have the following: Bachelor's degree in journalism, communications, or an equivalent combination of education and work experience A minimum of 3 years of relevant experience A self-starter excited to build a brand-new beat from the ground up. Strong reporting and writing skills, with the ability to produce both quick-hit recaps and longer features. An ability to develop sources and relationships with travel program organizers, coaches and tournament directors. Familiarity with the New Jersey youth and travel sports landscape, or the ability to learn it quickly. An ability to work independently under tight deadlines while juggling a wide range of sports and age groups. Comfort with live-streaming tools and technology, or a willingness to learn. Additional Information Advance Local Media offers competitive pay and a comprehensive benefits package with affordable options for your healthcare including medical, dental and vision plans, mental health support options, flexible spending accounts, fertility assistance, a competitive 401(k) plan to help plan for your future, generous paid time off, paid parental and caregiver leave and an employee assistance program to support your work/life balance, optional legal assistance, life insurance options, as well as flexible holidays to honor cultural diversity. NJ Advance Media is a part of Advance Local Media, one of the largest media groups in the United States, which operates the leading news and information companies in more than 20 cities, reaching 52+ million people monthly with our quality, real-time journalism and community engagement. Our company is built upon the values of Integrity, Customer-first, Inclusiveness, Collaboration and Forward-looking. For more information about Advance Local, please visit . NJ Advance Media is a company positioned for the future. We embrace the rapidly evolving digital landscape and are committed to developing new solutions across current and emerging media to help advertisers grow their businesses. In addition to flexible advertising opportunities with powerful media vehicles that we represent, we offer custom digital solutions from web and mobile site development, to a sophisticated array of search and social media optimization and targeted display solutions to reach audiences on all platforms. Our focus is on developing a real-time approach to reporting news, sports and entertainment content for consumption across all platforms and devices throughout New Jersey and Easton, PA. On nj.com and lehighvalleylive.com, we ensure the communities we serve have 24/7 access to the news and information that's most relevant locally, regionally and beyond. Our quality journalism and in-depth coverage is provided locally in The Star-Ledger, The Times of Trenton, South Jersey Times and The Express-Times. Advance Local Media is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, encouraging applications from people of all backgrounds. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, or any other category protected under federal, state or local law. If you need a reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the employment process, please contact Human Resources and let us know the nature of your request and the contact information. Advance Local Media does not provide sponsorship for work visas or employment authorization in the United States. Only candidates who are legally authorized to work in the U.S. will be considered for this position. Advance Local Media LLC is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics. The Know Your Rights poster is available here: The pay transparency policy is available here: Advance Local Media LLC is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the employment process, please contact Human Resources, and let us know the nature of your request and contact information. EEO is the Law #J-18808-Ljbffr Oregonian Media Group