Trainee Football Reporter

Are you ready to join the most exciting team in Scottish football?

Media Scotland is launching a new website about our national game and if you are a journalist with a passion for football at all levels in Scotland then there could be a place for you in our starting line-up.

We are looking for an ambitious and highly motivated trainee reporter to join our team. You will be expected to report with flair, passion and wit across a range of multimedia platforms.

Applicants will be comfortable writing articles and live blogs, presenting podcasts and videos but most importantly you will be expected to generate great ideas for content on a daily basis.
The ideal candidate will have have a qualification in journalism and some experience at a recognised media masthead.

We want someone who not only has a passion for the game but for everything that makes Scottish football unique.

This is not a traditional journalism role and while candidates will gain experience covering matches, news conferences and conducting one to one interviews, they must also be ready to take a completely different approach to how the game is covered

You will be passionate about digital media and have a sound knowledge of the latest trends across the sporting world. Aside from the day-to-day operation of our website, you will also be involved in related social media platforms and related projects and publications.

This is a great opportunity for a trainee looking to get a start in football journalism and be involved from in a very exciting project with big ambitions for the coming years.

Role Responsibility

• Creating content designed to reach and engage with the largest possible audience, with a specific focus on search and social trends
• Generating original content that supporters care about
• Researching your own stories and features
• Working closely with the local sports desk and Sports Editor to drive largest possible audience
• Taking a proactive approach to learning new skills and storytelling techniques
• Using search and social analytics platforms to determine content choices and distribution
• Looking beyond traditional sports stories and consider 'off the pitch' issues that fans care about
• Producing evergreen content that will bring consistent audience to the site month on month
• Assisting with long-term planning and producing content ahead of major events
• Writing about multiple topics and stories across the day, where audience determines
• Using Buzzsumo, Google Trends and other audience tools to produce content with clear trending opportunities
• Maintain and promote our content through live blogging, podcasting, video and other formats
• Pitching your own ideas in line with the site's brand
• Taking a creative approach to covering transfer stories and scouting reports
• Supporting the team with editorial responsibilities
• Use analytics and data intelligence to guide your own content production
• Working flexibly as required

The ideal candidate
You'll be a self-starter with exceptional journalistic skills, you will demonstrate a clear understanding of SEO techniques and use these to identify digital audience and content trends. Along with this, you will have a recognised qualification in journalism and have some experience working in newsrooms.

Ideally, you will have previous experience of writing for a digital audience along with an up-to-date knowledge of media law.
You will have a proven track record in producing engaging content capable of reaching a large online audience,

A social media expert with a deep understanding of the best ways to different platforms to ensure your content reaches the target audience

Package Description
In addition to competitive salaries, bonus structures (if applicable) and a contributory pension scheme, Reach plc offer a whole host of voluntary flexible benefits. These include a car scheme, holiday purchase, childcare vouchers, cycle scheme, staff discounts, season tickets & parking loans and an employee assistance programme.