The Dickinson (N.D.) Press has an immediate opening for an extremely motivated Regional Reporter to cover energy, agriculture and government in western North Dakota.
The ideal reporter candidate is a self-starter able to produce a strong balance of straightforward reporting and features, along with data-driven analysis that leads to enterprise and longform stories. The right person will understand how to establish sources, be lively on social media and bring new ideas to the newsroom.
Along with general assignment work, the reporter will cover three of the area’s most important topics -- energy, agriculture and government -- as well as a large swath of rural area outside of Dickinson. All of these beats generate an abundance of news largely because of how they tie into the western North Dakota’s energy and agriculture industries.
Reporters also take their own photographs with DSLR cameras and lenses provided by the newspaper, and have the option to shoot video along with their stories. Each reporter receives a monthly cellphone stipend and housing assistance is available.
The Press is a national award-winning, six-day morning newspaper (no Monday edition) with a 7,000 print circulation and a large online readership base that serves one of the nation’s fastest-growing small towns. The Press swept the last year’s North Dakota Newspaper Association’s major awards in its circulation category, and has won the past two Inland Newspaper Association Community Leadership Awards while taking first place this year in Investigative Reporting as well.
Dickinson is on the south end of the Bakken Oil Patch and is a 30-minute drive from the North Dakota Badlands and Theodore Roosevelt National Park, which offers many outdoor opportunities. There is also plenty in the city to keep residents busy, including a $25 million community fitness center, a growing arts community and a weekly summer street fair and concert series.
This is an excellent position for someone looking to gain valuable experience at a daily newspaper. More than a dozen of our most recent newsroom employees have moved on to larger media markets or to higher positions within Forum Communications Co., which owns The Dickinson Press and several other newspapers in the upper Midwest. The ideal candidate will be able to join us in early January.
Job requirements
– Have a journalism degree, or similar, from a four-year college.
– Have one year of journalism experience at daily newspaper. Recent journalism school graduates with internship, daily newspaper or college newspaper experience are encouraged to apply.
– Be able to cover breaking news and write under tight deadlines, and do so in proper AP style, and report on an array of different topics.
– Have experience Adobe programs, such as Photoshop or InDesign, as well as photography.
– Have strong decision-making, communication and interpersonal skills.
– Be a motivated, self-starter who can produce award-winning ideas.
– Have a valid driver’s license, a driving record that is insurable by the company and a reliable source of transportation.
You may apply online at http://www.forumcomm.com/careers, or you can send a cover letter, resume and no more than five writing clips, as well as any samples of page design and photography you’d like us to see, along with three professional references to Managing Editor Dustin Monke at dmonke@thedickinsonpress.com no later than Friday, Dec. 18.