The Austin American-Statesman is seeking a talented, energetic writer to join our award-winning Austin360 entertainment team in Austin, the Live Music Capital of the World. Austin has given rise to musicians like Willie Nelson, Janis Joplin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Black Pumas, Grupo Fantasma, Shakey Graves, Gary Clark Jr. and many more. Our city is home to thoughtful songwriters, instrumental wizards, punk iconoclasts and some of the best underground R&B and blues artists in the country.
Once a sleepy college town where cosmic cowboys redefined country music, gut bucket blues artists sang with their guitars and rollicking Tejano rhythms kept eastside cantinas live, Austin is now a booming metropolis with vibrant hip-hop, pop, rock, electronic and Latin fusion scenes. Our music calendar is bookended by the South by Southwest Music Festival in the spring and the Austin City Limits Music Festival in the fall. In between, we have festivals dedicated to blues, country, psychedelic sounds, reggae, Latin music and much more.
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We're looking for a versatile reporter who can break news across all these genres, be the lead reviewer during Austin City Limits Festival, write trending music news out of SXSW and write engaging features and smart analysis stories about Austin's ever-changing musical ecosystem. That includes stories about the intersections between artist interests, city policy and the live music and festival industries that drive Austin's scene.
The successful candidate will have strong entrepreneurial skills, at least three to five years of experience and a passion for storytelling across an array of digital and social media platforms.
Responsibilities:
- Research, write and report compelling journalism that grows our audience by informing and engaging readers.
- Rapidly file entertaining concert reviews and recaps from music festivals and events.
- Write a mixture of mid-to-long form feature stories and quick-hit trending pieces.
- Act as a public ambassador through community outreach and connect with readers through social media.
- Use live video to spotlight breaking news and high interest events.
- Provide thoughtful analysis of complex issues. Produce watchdog journalism that leads to change.
- Use real time metrics to respond to user demand and reader interest.
- Work with newsroom leaders to shape storytelling to meet audience needs and interests on every platform.
- Contribute to the community's greater good through impactful journalism.
- Must be available to work weekends and evenings as news breaks or festivals and concerts occur, occasional holidays.
Requirements:
- Bachelor's or master's in communications, journalism or related field or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Experience working for an online-only news website, newspaper or magazine.
- Solid communication and time management skills.
- Experience with video production and editing.
- Must be able to work well on deadline.
- This role requires a valid driver's license, reliable transportation, and the minimum liability insurance required by state law.
- Spanish language skills are a plus.
Application Instructions
We are eager to learn more about you and how you fit this role. When you apply, don't limit your upload to a resume; show us what you've done. To do so, put together a single document file that includes the following, in this order:
- Your resume - one to two pages.
- A cover letter that outlines how you would approach the job.
- Please include a variety of clips -no more than six- showing beat reporting and enterprise on different digital platforms.
It is important that these items be assembled into a single document and uploaded in PDF format. Completing these steps will ensure that your application receives the highest consideration.
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