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PA Media Group, Chief Reporter - Real Life Features

Employer
PA Media Group
Location
Paddington, London
Salary
Competitive plus benefits
Closing date
19 Jun 2022

View more

Industry
Journalist
Job Type
Permanent
Hours
Full Time
Sector
Nationals, Digital, News
Discipline
Reporter

Job Details

Chief Reporter, Real Life Features
Full time, Permanent
Paddington, London (hybrid)

Do you want to use your strong experience of securing exclusive interviews to become our Chief Reporter on PA Real Life and ensure our service is packed with standout human interest stories?

Would you relish becoming our chief story finder, tracking down ordinary people with extraordinary experiences, and landing interviews strong enough to drive traffic to the biggest websites all over the world, make spreads in national newspapers, compelling TV and cover stories for magazines? 

We are looking for an ambitious and experienced journalist, who is brimming with original ideas, to join PA Real Life – a thriving department at PA Media that only produces exclusive stories. 

You will work with the Real Life Editor and the team to ensure we have a constant flow of fantastic stories, accompanied by brilliant pictures and often video – and we’ll need you to edit some articles and write lots more of your own.


What you’ll be doing …

  • Chief story finder for Real Life Features, taking the lead on the sourcing of stories 
  • Forward-planning with the Editor to ensure we always have enough excellent stories to meet our customers’ needs
  • Editing real life stories for online or print when required
  • Standing in for the Real Life Editor in her absence
  • Helping other team members to source stories
  • Ensuring all stories are factually correct, legally sound and written in PA Real Life’s house style 
  • Pitching stories to TV, magazines and newspapers
     

What you’ll need … 

  • Confidence, determination and contacts to land the very best real-life exclusives
  • Ability to problem solve and produce stories very quickly when needed
  • Expert knowledge of legal issues, particularly relating to real-life stories  
  • Ability to produce near flawless copy, in style and to deadline in a fast-paced environment
  • Brilliant interview skills to find the very best lines in every story
  • Great telephone manner, so people want to talk to you exclusively over and above other journalists
  • Extensive knowledge of the real life market and what people want to read – ranging from love rats, to heartbreaking crime and health stories.
  • A commitment to supporting more junior team members
     

Do you have …?

  • Strong experience of sourcing and writing real life stories for national publications or a large regional – either in news or features? 
  • A proven track-record in landing exclusive stories spectacular enough to sell to the national and international media?
  • The knowledge and ability to edit Real Life stories in the Editor’s absence to ensure our stories and pictures are always legally sound?
  • A love of human interest stories?
  • Keenness to edit articles as well as finding and writing lots more of your own?
  • An NCTJ or equivalent – plus a great instinct for what makes an outstanding story?
     

And ideally, do you have…?

  • Previous experience of working for an agency or major title producing real life or human interest stories? 
  • Experience of selling exclusive stories to national publications? 
     

What we can offer you…

  • The chance to work on fantastic exclusives as part of a friendly, supportive and talented team
  • Alongside a competitive basic salary, there’s an attractive benefits package which includes a company pension scheme, access to discounted events and tickets, travel loans and a Cycle2Work scheme 
  • Ongoing training and development opportunities – we want you to grow here and take on new challenges 
  • We are based at a lovely modern office on the canal at Paddington Basin
     

This role will be based in our Paddington office in London, with an option to work from home 2 or 3 days a week if you like.

If this sounds like a job you would love, please apply with your CV and a cover letter telling us why you are the Chief Reporter PA Real Life needs! 

Company

We are a diverse portfolio of specialist media companies spanning news & information, data, technology, marketing and communications. Our flagship brand, PA Media, is the national news agency for the UK and Ireland.

We provide customers across the media, sport, corporate, betting and public sectors with the broadest range of content, products and services to inform and entertain their audiences.

Company info
Website
Location
The Point
37 North Wharf Road
Paddington
London
W2 1AF
GB

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