News Reporter – Southern Daily Echo
The Southern Daily Echo is seeking a news reporter to join our busy team in Southampton, covering the city and surrounding areas, including Eastleigh and the New Forest.
The successful candidate will have a sharp news sense and be as comfortable heading out to breaking incidents as running a live blog from the newsroom. You will play a key role in delivering fast, accurate and engaging content for dailyecho.co.uk, helping us lead the conversation on the stories that matter to our readers.
This is a varied and fast-paced role. One day you could be covering a major emergency incident, the next attending court, chasing exclusive leads, or telling powerful community stories that resonate with our audience. A strong understanding of digital publishing, social media and audience engagement will be a distinct advantage.
Working as part of an experienced and supportive newsroom, you will be expected to generate your own story ideas, build contacts across the patch and uphold high standards.
This role is open to senior journalists looking for a fresh challenge as well as trainee reporters entering the industry.
Key Responsibilities
- Cover breaking news, court, community and feature stories across the patch
- Produce fast, accurate and engaging digital content, including live blogs
- Generate original story ideas and develop exclusive content
- Build and maintain strong contacts across the patch
- Use social media and digital platforms to source stories and engage readers
- Work collaboratively with colleagues in a busy newsroom
- Uphold high editorial and legal standards
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
- A strong news sense and understanding of what makes a compelling story
- Ability to write quickly, accurately and to a high standard under pressure
- Understanding of digital publishing, social media and audience engagement
- Knowledge of SEO and producing content that performs well online
- Excellent attention to detail and commitment to accuracy
- Ability to manage workload, prioritise tasks and meet deadlines
- Strong communication skills and the ability to build relationships in the community
- Good understanding of media law and ethical journalism standards
- NCTJ qualification or working towards it (desirable)
Please apply with your CV and a covering letter explaining why you are the right candidate for the role. Applications will be reviewed as they are received.
Benefits
- 25 days holiday + bank holidays + your birthday off
- Holiday buy scheme for extra flexibility
- Structured career progression & ongoing training
- Pension plan
- Employee Helpline counselling and advice
- Perks & discounts including:
- Gym membership
- Cycle to Work scheme
- Eye care
- Retail discounts
- Team building days & annual volunteer charity day
About Newsquest Media Group
We are a media company with a difference. We are committed to bringing a voice to your region by investing in a passionate team of journalists who proudly serve their communities by sharing authoritative news that readers trust. Our sales teams provide local businesses with highly responsive digital advertising and marketing solutions.
We are one of the largest regional news publishers in the UK and have a portfolio of more than 250+ local news brands and magazines online and in print. With an online audience of 41 million users a month and 7 million readers a week in print, our content is read by a substantial proportion of the UK population.
In addition to our local news brands, we own several digital pure play and specialist media businesses such as s1jobs and s1homes, Exchange & Mart, and Newsquest Specialist Media. We also own LOCALiQ, an award-winning digital marketing agency that specialises in driving more leads, increasing online growth and generating return on marketing investment on behalf of thousands of UK SMBs.
