Southern California sports reporter

The USA TODAY Network is seeking an experienced sports writer to cover Southern California and deliver impactful, essential journalism with modern techniques across multiple mediums.

We need a self-starter who has the stamina and vigor to attack the biggest story of the day, every day. An ability to consistently identify what moves the needle in pro, college and the very best in high school sports is needed to succeed in this role.

The ideal candidate will balance writing breaking news with supreme urgency with the demand of delivering thoughtful analysis and deeply reported enterprise to become a mandatory source for Southern California sports news and information.

This candidate will be comfortable being on camera to concisely analyze the news with precision and clarity, especially on vertical video. Broad expertise in the players and personalities who drive interest is a necessity to cover Southern California sports.

The USA TODAY Network is the nation's largest news media organization, consisting of more than 200 properties, including USA TODAY. The candidate will work collaboratively with fast-moving teams across the enterprise to help achieve the company's goal of becoming the dominant sports news source in the country.

This is a salaried position, based in Southern California, with competitive benefits and pay.

Responsibilities:

• Create smart, thoughtful, engaging, content in a variety of formats to rapidly grow audience on USA TODAY and other network sites.
• Master best practices for maximum reach on search / social and commit to getting content to top of Google carousels.
• Stay on front lines of what's buzzing Southern California sports to disseminate quick responses on trending topics.
• Engage readers every day, including written, video and social media content.
• Track performance and be comfortable in an environment of constant adjustment to reach performance goals.
• Display creativity in everything from developing fresh content to writing SEO-friendly headlines to sharing content socially to having an eye for images and video.
• Own the opportunity to execute strategy, make massive audience gains and work in a fast-moving and highly rewarding journalism environment.

• Reside in Southern California, within reach of prime sports action.
• College degree in communications, journalism, marketing or related field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 3+ years' experience as a sports journalist, with focus on fast-paced digital content production and multimedia expertise.
• Understanding of various news and information content management systems.
• A history of collaboration, innovation and goal achievement.
• Proven ability of maximizing readership by anticipating news, researching trends and delivering news in a variety of story forms.
• Exceptional social media and engagement skills.
• Ability to write with accuracy and precision.
• Excellent communication and time-management skills.
• Approachability, personal charisma and a commitment to staff.
• Understanding of the changing sports media landscape and ability to adapt strategies that address continually changing market and consumer needs and desires.
• Strong competitive instincts and intellectual curiosity.

1. Your resume - one to two pages.
2. A cover letter that outlines how you would approach the job.
3. Links to 3-6 online samples of your work. Show us what you've produced or had a hand in that best reflects what you can do in your desired role.