Journalist – Newcastle – EXTEND

Join the Newcastle Local Story Team and be part of an ambitious newsroom dedicated to serving audiences across the North East.

Job Requisition ID: 50867

Job Closing Date: 24 August 2026

Newcastle-upon-Tyne, GBR, NE991RN

JOB DETAILS

JOB BAND: C
CONTRACT TYPE: X 1 Permanent, Full-time, X 1 Fixed-term Contract, Full Time, 6 months
DEPARTMENT: BBC Local, Newcastle
LOCATION: Newcastle
PROPOSED SALARY RANGE: £28,000 to £38,000 depending on relevant skills, knowledge and experience. The expected salary range for this role reflects internal benchmarking and external market insights.

We’re happy to discuss flexible working. If you’d like to, please indicate your preference in the application – though there’s no obligation to do so now. Flexible working will be part of the discussion at offer stage.

BBC EXTEND

This role is advertised as part of our BBC Extend programme for disabled people. To apply for this role you should identify as deaf, disabled or neurodivergent and must meet either the definition of disability in the Equality Act (2010), or the definition of disability in the Disability Discrimination Act (1995) if applying in Northern Ireland. You’re broadly defined as disabled under both acts if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative or adverse effect on your ability to do normal daily activities. This definition includes both apparent and non-apparent conditions and impairments, and medical conditions such as Cancer, HIV or Multiple Sclerosis.

We are committed to making the process of applying for this role as accessible as possible. If you need to discuss adjustments or access requirements for the application process, or have any questions about our Extend programme, please contact [email protected].

The BBC are fully committed to providing workplace adjustments to help eliminate barriers in the workface that disabled people face. To do this, we have our own dedicated BBC Access and Disability Service that provides assessments and support throughout employment with us. If you are successful in applying for this role and require workplace adjustments, we will work with you to get your adjustments in place.

If you’d like more information on BBC Extend, please visit the BBC Extend webpage. (EXTEND code: EX2324).

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

Are you passionate about telling local stories that matter? Join the Newcastle Local Story Team and be part of an ambitious newsroom dedicated to serving audiences across the North East. As a Broadcast Journalist, you’ll uncover and share stories that inform, engage, and reflect our diverse communities, helping to deliver high-quality content across radio and digital platforms while shaping the future of local journalism.

WHY JOIN THE TEAM

We’re looking for an experienced and versatile journalist who is passionate about storytelling and thrives in a fast-paced news environment. You’ll have the opportunity to shape content that matters to audiences across the North East, working across radio and digital platforms to deliver impactful journalism. This is an exciting role for a motivated, multi-skilled journalist with strong breaking news instincts, excellent production skills, and a desire to reach and engage new audiences.

We want someone who goes beyond the press release, bringing original, inclusive story ideas that reflect the diverse communities we serve. You’ll join an ambitious team that values creativity, collaboration, and high editorial standards, while offering opportunities to further develop your skills across multiple platforms.

As delivering radio news bulletins is a key requirement of this role, applicants must submit a demo radio news bulletin (MP3 or WAV format), no longer than 3 minutes, to [email protected] as part of their application. If you experience difficulties sending your demo by email, please use WeTransfer. Alternative submission methods will not be considered.

YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPACT:

You will have experience of responding to breaking news with the ability to summarise complex issues calmly and clearly under significant time pressure. You may be deployed to report on stories so live production experience is critical.
You will come up with original story ideas, guests and creative treatments and carry out background research.
Compiling and presenting our hourly news bulletins, with a mixture of weekend and weekday working.
Our producers work with colleagues across BBC News and other parts of the corporation. We expect high quality writing skills and the highest standards of accuracy, impartiality and fair dealing in accordance with the BBC’s Editorial values.
Our audience are using us 7 days a week; our weekend breakfast and mid-morning content is a crucial aspect of our output – so expect early starts.

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:

Demonstrable experience as a journalist, with strong news judgement and the ability to identify compelling stories.
Experience reporting on breaking news and delivering accurate content under significant time pressure.
Excellent broadcast presentation skills and a confident, engaging radio news-reading voice.
Strong writing, research, and production skills, with meticulous attention to accuracy and editorial standards.
Ability to generate original and inclusive story ideas that reflect diverse audiences and communities.

DESIRED BUT NOT REQUIRED:

Experience creating content for digital and social media platforms.
Live production and on-location reporting experience.
Knowledge of audience behaviours across different media platforms and how to tailor content accordingly.
Experience developing creative storytelling formats and treatments.
Familiarity with the North East news landscape and the issues that matter to local audiences.

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

#LI-FG1

More about BBC Extend

To apply for this role you should identify as deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent and must meet either the definition of disability in the Equality Act (2010), or the definition of disability in the Disability Discrimination Act (1995) if applying in Northern Ireland. You’re broadly defined as disabled under both acts if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative or adverse effect on your ability to do normal daily activities. This definition includes both apparent and non-apparent conditions and impairments, and medical conditions such as Cancer, HIV or Multiple Sclerosis.

If you’d like more information on BBC Extend, please visit the BBC Extend webpage.

EX2324

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]

We are unable to accept applications via CV and only applications made online will be considered. Please click on the APPLY NOW button to proceed with your application.

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.

Information at a Glance

This is your BBC

At the BBC you can create and innovate in an inclusive environment while contributing to some of the world’s best loved content, and the BBC’s mission to inform, educate and entertain.

Life at BBC

Here you will benefit from:
• Fair pay and flexible benefits including a competitive salary package, a flexible 35-hour working week, 25 days annual leave with the option to buy an extra 5 days, a defined pension scheme and discounted dental, health care and gym.
• Excellent career and professional development.
• Support in your working life, including flexible working which you can discuss with us at any point during the application, selection or offer.
• A values-based organisation where the way we do things is important as what we do.

Benefits may vary if you are joining on an FTC basis or on an orchestra conditions contract.

Learn more about life at the BBC and our values in our candidate pack.

You belong

We have a working environment where we value and respect every individual’s unique contribution, so all our employees feel that they can belong, thrive and achieve their full potential.

We want to attract the broadest range of talented people to join us. The more diverse our workforce, the better able we are to respond to and reflect our audiences in all their diversity.

We welcome applications from individuals, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief.

Find out more about diversity, inclusion and belonging in our strategy below.

Disability confident

We are a disability confident employer. If you need to discuss adjustments or access requirements for the interview process, or to carry out this role, please contact us via email and we’d be happy to discuss: [email protected]