Trainee Reporter – Newsquest Essex (Colchester)

Newsquest Essex is looking for a new trainee reporter to join our busy, friendly news team in north Essex. This role is suited to a trainee who has completed their NCTJ diploma and is ready to make an immediate impact reporting on an area with big ambitions and bags of potential.

You will be part of a team which produces the Colchester Daily Gazette – and six respected paid-for weekly titles.

We need a reporter who will take ownership of growing our online audience in the wider north Essex area and help report news across the patch.

It’s an exciting and varied job. You could be doing a Facebook Live report from a city centre during a food festival, running a live blog from a breaking news incident, and writing a heart-warming community story – all on the same shift!

The role will involve weekend work on a rota basis.

We’ll give you the on-the-job training and support needed to help you become a first-class senior reporter in a lively patch, working for one of the UK’s biggest news publishers.

About you

This role suits a trainee who can make an impact, with big ideas and ambitions, an eye for a story and a flair for social media.

You’ll be expected to make contacts on your patch and find great stories. As a reporter, you have to be there at the best and worst times in people’s lives and you need to handle both appropriately. You could be talking to business owners about how they are tackling the cost of living crisis, or talking to people who have suffered bereavement or injustice.

Our reporters are expected to meet audience benchmarks, which means learning how to find a good story, how to tell it across different platforms and how to get it in front of more people through social media and SEO.

The ideal candidate will already have the gold standard NCTJ diploma including shorthand and a driving licence, but the right attitude is more important.  Please apply before the closing date, September 29th.

Newsquest Media Group is one of the UK’s largest newspaper and website publishers. As well as a competitive salary, we also offer generous benefits including:

  • Contributory pension
  • Perks and discounts at various retail outlets
  • Opportunities for team building and training days
  • 25 days’ paid holiday + statutory bank holidays + your birthday day off.
  • Structured career progression, ongoing training, and personal performance reviews
  • Discount Vouchers
  • Discounted Gym membership
  • Cycle to Work scheme
  • Mental Health Support via Lifeworks
  • Eye test vouchers plus £50 towards new glasses.
  • Annual Volunteer Charity Day

Newsquest Media Group is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage/civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

Our recruitment process will consist of various stages and activities, as part of our commitment to fairness to all applicants, we will take into account any adjustments that could help you.

Keep in touch

Sign up to receive the NCTJ’s eJournalism newsletter. Sent once a month, it will keep you up to date with the latest news and developments in journalism training.