Local Reporter and Producer, Tortoise Local

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Location: North East based (Remote Working)
Salary details: £22,500-25,000pa
  • Freelance Gig
  • Full-Time

We’re building a different type of newsroom, for a slower, wiser news. Now more than ever it’s important to have calm, clear journalism you can trust.

We’re not chasing breaking news, but revealing what’s driving it. Built to cover stories not as they happen, but when they’re ready. Where everyone has a seat at the table.

Tortoise sets out to bring people together to try and make sense of the world. We’re here to build journalism that lasts.

What’s My Personal Contribution?

To help us build our new newsroom in the North East, where Tortoise will launch in September 2021. You’ll have a passion for local news, and be ready to get stuck in with the logistics behind the scenes and drive compelling journalism to help make Tortoise Local a success.

This is a full-time, freelance role on a one year contract.

What are my responsibilities & accountabilities?

Run our ThinkIns, the engine of our journalism:

  • Sourcing/booking venues, arranging refreshments, seating and any technical requirements.
  • Responsible for logistics on the night.
  • Audience development – help to make sure our ThinkIn audiences represent diverse backgrounds and opinions, by inviting individuals from different backgrounds with stories to tell to join the ThinkIn.
  • Producing Tortoise “Five Slide Guides”.

Reporting and writing:

  • Working daily with Tortoise Local Editor to research audio and written sensemaker stories.
  • Working on a slate of longer audio and written stories across a broad range of social, economic, political and cultural topics, in line with wider Tortoise news coverage.

Building our North East presence:

  • Provide outreach on social media to influential local voices and those that should be heard more too.
  • Identify groups and individuals who may be great ThinkIn guests, passionate Tortoise members, or fascinating focal points for our editorial coverage.

Audio production:

  • To help produce a daily and weekly audio product and build an audience for it in the North East and beyond.
  • To deliver compelling ideas for audio stories.

What Do I Know? Useful Knowledge, Skills & Experience

  • Experience in conceptualising, reporting and producing journalism, with high quality first drafts and delivered to tight deadlines.
  • Experience of using audio software (for example, Audition) to edit audio.
  • Experience in broadcast journalism highly desirable
  • You understand the Tortoise ethos and our mission to create slower, wiser news that cuts through the noise.

What Do I Show? Essential Behaviours

  • You’re a news junkie and a self-starter. You’re committed to highly accurate reporting. You’re detail oriented, and able to see the Big Picture too.
  • You’re a do-er that gets stuck in, there’s no job too small.
  • 100% reliable. You always turn up on time and are fully prepared.
  • You care about the role local news plays in communities, and are passionate about creating high impact journalism.
  • Highly organised, able to juggle multiple priorities and work under pressure.
  • Pleasure to work with and ability to work in a small team

To Apply

Please send your CV and covering letter (no more than a page) to Duncan Mavin (duncan.mavin@tortoisemedia.com), along with the short task below:

Imagine you are writing a Sensemaker focused on the North East. Please choose three of our five big editorial themes – ie 3 of “Money”, “Tech / New Things”, “Belonging”, “the 100-year Life” and “Planet”.

Please choose one story for each of the three headings, 150 words max.For two of these, please focus on how you write, aiming for clarity and concision but also a relaxed but not too relaxed tone. ie, a balance. Also: remember what it says on the tin. We are trying to make sense of the news. For the third, please tell the reader something new.

Please mention Journo Resources when you apply, it really helps us out.

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