Journalist – East News

Do you genuinely love sport, and especially sport in the East? We want someone who will build relationships across the board and showcase all the sport played in this huge region.

Job Requisition ID: 42879

Job Closing Date: 28 April 2026

JOB DETAILS

JOB BAND: C
CONTRACT TYPE: Permanent, 35 hours
DEPARTMENT: East News
LOCATION: Flexible around the East of England
PROPOSED SALARY RANGE: £27,600 – £37,050 depending on relevant skills, knowledge and experience. The expected salary range for this role reflects internal benchmarking and external market insights.

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

We’re looking for someone who has a passion to tell sport stories. From Ipswich’s quest to reach the Premier League to Southend at Wembley in the FA Trophy final and Northampton Saints’ bid for the Prem Rugby crown. You’ll be as comfortable at Portman Road and Franklin’s Gardens as you are at the Ambassador Cruise Line Ground, in Chelmsford. BBC East needs to be there. You won’t want to be just limited to football, rugby union and cricket, we need someone who sees the sporting world in all its variety and diversity. From boxing and bowls to speedway – there’s a huge array of sports played in the East of England by people from all demographics – we want someone who will tell the stories of all the people who take part.

We have an amazing opportunity for someone to bring all of these brilliant stories to the country’s biggest sport website and app.

Main responsibilities

We need somebody who lives and breathes regional sport and can translate that passion to our website audience. You’ll be able to make those ideas, amazing interviews and match coverage into content our readers love. You’ll also be working within the regional newsrooms across the East of England and helping other sports reporters from radio and TV translate their ideas into digital content. We’d love to hear how you would make the most of the interviews and content they gather and how that would become brilliant social media content.

As well as reporting locally you will also have the chance to work on EFL live pages covering football matches from England’s second tier. Be prepared – as this is a sport job, there will be plenty of weekend and evening shifts.

Criteria

Do you genuinely love sport, and especially sport in the East? Football may be king in this part of the country but there are a lot more sports and players waiting for their turn in the limelight. We want someone who will build relationships across the board and showcase all the sport played in this huge region.

You will have lots of enthusiasm, creativity and a calm head. One of our most-read pieces of content is the EFL live page, and it’s a hectic, but rewarding, day of work.

While you’ll need to be able to tell those fast-paced stories about what’s happening now, you’ll also be able to pick out those exclusives and human interest stories. You’ll have a knack for finding the best line from the story to help it go far and wide.

Working closely with colleagues in TV and radio you will be part of a team whose aim it is to make the best of our stories on all our platforms.

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

A significant track record in sports journalism, demonstrating strong editorial judgement under pressure.
A clear understanding of impartiality, and the ability to articulate the distinctions between impartiality, balance and professional judgement.
Strong relationship‑building skills and the ability to work collaboratively within a team.
A solid understanding of different BBC platforms and audiences.
Excellent writing skills and knowledge of working within content management systems for online.

DESIRED CRITERIA

Knowledge of content management systems
Understanding of audience metrics.
Background knowledge of major sports teams in the East of England
Experience of working on live pages

If you can bring some of these skills and experiences, along with transferable strengths, we’d love to hear from you and encourage you to apply.

Disclaimer

This job description is a written statement of the essential characteristics of the job, with its principal accountabilities, incorporating a note of the skills, knowledge and experience required for a satisfactory level of performance. This is not intended to be a complete, detailed account of all aspects of the duties involved.

Please note: If you were to be offered this role, the BBC will conduct Employment screening checks which include Reference checks; Eligibility to work checks; and if applicable to the role, Safeguarding and Adverse media/Social media checks. Any offer made is conditional on these checks being satisfactory.

Before your start date, you may need to disclose any unspent convictions or police charges, in line with our Recruitment policy. This allows us to discuss any support you may need and assess any risks. Failure to disclose may result in the withdrawal of your offer.

For any general queries, please contact: [email protected]

Redeployment

The BBC is committed to redeploying employees seeking suitable alternative employment within the BBC and they will be given priority consideration ahead of other applicants. Priority consideration means for those employees seeking redeployment their application will be considered alongside anyone else at risk of redundancy, prior to any individuals being considered who are not at risk.