Auburn University Sports Beat Reporter

The Opelika-Auburn News, an award-winning daily newspaper in eastern Alabama, has an immediate opening for a reporter to cover Auburn University sports with a focus on football and men’s basketball.

This is a prime opportunity for a reporter to sink their teeth into a major college sports beat that is fast-moving and near to the heart of so many readers who live here. Auburn is a charming college town and Auburn University is home to an always-eventful football program and a men’s basketball program on the rise.

Key Responsibilities

• Attend all Auburn football games, including road games, and all home men’s basketball games plus select road games and post-season games.
• Attend virtual and in-person press conferences for football and men’s basketball.
• Cover football year-round, including recruiting, spring practice, transfer portal developments, coaching changes, facility upgrades and improvements made to fan experience.
• Maintain strong working relationships within the Auburn athletic department and individual sports teams.
• Tackle breaking news on your beat and have a strong social media presence.
• Write game previews, features, recaps and analysis, all in a timely manner.
• Be a team player within the sports department and newsroom.
• Extra duties will include, but are not limited to, some high school football games and other sporting events, usually ones with highest profile and readership and often involving elite recruits.
• Ensure stories have photos and video and are a complete package, especially for digital.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Be self-motivated, have good energy and a good work ethic. Also must be willing to work a flexible schedule.
• Two-to-five years of sports reporting experience preferred; coverage of a college beat is preferred, but not required;
• Four-year degree from an accredited institution in Journalism or comparable professional experience preferred.
• Prepared to present five writing clips; also include examples of multimedia/audio/video work.
• Experience in investigative reporting on a sports beat, strong profiles and alternative story forms.
• Adept at growing audience through great content.
• Smart with social media and multimedia.
• Able to meet tight deadlines and travel when needed.
• Valid Driver License with satisfactory Motor Vehicle Report

About us: The Opelika-Auburn News is a daily newspaper constantly working to evolve and expand in digital presence. High school sports are important to our readers and Auburn beat writers in the past have helped cover high school football games on fall Fridays when they aren’t traveling, but this job is for an AU beat writer. The staff is a team and operates with teamwork, however through our internship program and with staff on the editor level writing sports commentary and stepping in to cover non-revenue sports at Auburn at times, this position is designed for a reporter to put their first focus on Auburn football and men’s basketball coverage. Opelika-Auburn News is majority owned by Lee Enterprises.

Lee Enterprises is the nation’s fourth-largest provider of high-quality local news, with 77 daily newspapers in 26 states that have print, digital and e-replica versions. Our digital sites attract more than 44 million unique visits monthly. We also have a rapidly growing roster of digital products for consumers, and are committed to aggressive digital growth.

Lee Enterprises is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We respect and celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. For more information about Lee, check us out at www.lee.net.

We are focused on building a diverse and inclusive workforce. If you are excited about this role but do not meet 100% of the qualifications above, we encourage you to apply