General Assignments Reporter- Collin County

Job Title
General Assignments Reporter- Collin County
Business Title
Staff Writer
Education
Bachelor's Degree
Location
Downtown Dallas (TDMN) - Dallas, TX 75201 US (Primary)
Salary Grade
Job Type
Full-Time
Exemption Type
Non-Exempt
Travel
None
Job Description
The Dallas Morning News is seeking a general assignment reporter to cover fast-growing Collin County, as a whole, and with significant focus on the most populous cities and those leading the population boom. That includes Frisco, which is 15th nationally for population increase, and the new home of Universal Kids Resort theme park and Omni PGA Frisco Resort. Couple that with Celina, which leads the county's growth increase since 2020 at 97%, and it is easy to see why thetopics and issues, especially development and government accountability in these municipalities matter most to readers and the people who live there.
The DMN wants a reporter who will tell the most important and interesting stories about community, while getting to know the culture and people in those communities. This reporter's stories will drive impact and change, and will highlight unique trends and issues and people who are struggling or making a difference for others. On any given week, this reporter will land breaking news, short-term enterprise and accountability work and be as comfortable filing freedom of information requests as he or she would be attending church to write about an interesting program or person. You should also be adept at finding stories on your own and multitasking. In this job, both skills are a must.
Collaboration with the broader newsroom is critical as there will also be the opportunity to partner with others to tackle strong, long-term enterprise stories that could touch on politics, crime, transportation or anything recognized as trending in the suburbs.
Basically, we want to hire you if you see journalism as a way to serve the people in our communities. If you get excited about uncovering stories that shock and surprise, and you enjoy making strong connections with stakeholders in an effort to inform readers and effect change, then we want to talk to you.
Job Responsibilities:
Assignments will include a mix of daily beat stories, enterprise and long-term investigative stories. Reporters on the suburban team are expected to turn news and scoops in their communities, be comfortable with filing records requests and understand and deliver North-Star coverage. Shifts could include live coverage of a breaking news event.
Job duties will also include using Google Trends and Chartbeat to identify ideas for public service journalism, utility stories and other quick-hit pieces that would attract a large number of North Texas readers, combining original reporting with information from other sources and our archives.
Job Requirements
Here's our list of preferred skills and experience: (Please note this is not a checklist of requirements, but should be considered as a pool of preferred qualifications. If you can already do some of these things, great. If you're excited about figuring out how to do all of them, great! We'd love to hear from you either way.)

• The ability to respond to and turn dailies, writing clean, compelling stories on deadline.
• Excellent time management, planning and prioritization skills to manage daily assignments as well as long-term enterprise.
• A concrete understanding of SEO best practices and how to optimize a story for digital presentation, including headlines.
• Ability to work in a collaborative environment.

The Dallas Morning News is Texas' leading daily newspaper with a bedrock journalistic reputation, intense regional focus and close community ties. We are dedicated to covering the issues that impact everyday lives in North Texas. More than 12 million people a month read The News' content published in print, online or digitally. Founded in 1885, The News maintains one of the largest newsrooms in Texas and has won nine Pulitzer Prizes.
We believe our community is best served by a diverse newsroom that fosters an inclusive work environment for people from all backgrounds, regardless of race, gender, age or sexual orientation.
Benefit Offerings:
Internal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee
Internal Culture Committee
Leadership Development Programs
Annual Unconscious Bias Training
Flexible Work Schedules
12 weeks of Parental Leave
Monthly Webinars addressing Health & Wealth for all employees
Medical/Dental and Vision insurance
MDLive Telemedicine 24/7/365 access to board-certified doctors via computer or phone
Onsite Fitness Center
Retirement benefits, including employer contributions
Employee Assistance Program
18 Paid Time Off Days
9 Paid Holidays
8 Hours Community Service Time Off
Pet Insurance