Apprentice Reporter

NEWSQUEST MEDIA GROUP; Salisbury; On-site; GBP 20,000 - 24,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional news publisher is seeking an Apprentice Reporter in Salisbury. This entry-level position involves reporting on local businesses, community events, and other stories across various platforms. The role includes studying for an NCTJ Preliminary Diploma while gaining practical experience. Ideal for passionate individuals eager to engage with the community and build journalistic skills, it offers a rare opportunity in journalism. Weekend work may be necessary, and applicants should have a driving license.

Benefits

25 days holiday + bank holidays + birthday off

Holiday buy scheme

Structured career progression or ongoing training

Pension plan

Mental health support

Gym membership

Cycle to Work scheme

Eye care vouchers (£50 towards glasses)

Retail discounts

Team building days

Annual volunteer charity day

Qualifications

• Must be willing to cover various community stories and events.
• Study shorthand, media law, reporting, public affairs, and court reporting.
• Access to a vehicle and a driving licence is essential.

Responsibilities

• Cover local news, business events, and community stories.
• Attend news events throughout the day and report across platforms.
• Meet audience goals through effective storytelling and engagement.

Skills

Reporting on local businesses and community events

Interviews with sources

Using social media

Creating videos and photographs

Multi-platform storytelling

Good contact-making ability

Education

NCTJ Preliminary Diploma (Level 5) or equivalent

Tools

AI tools

Social media platforms

Job description

Apprentice Reporter

Application Deadline: 1 February 2026

Department: Editorial

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: Salisbury

Reporting To: Kimberley Barber

Description

We are looking for a new Apprentice Reporter to join our Salisbury newsroom. Reporting for the Salisbury Journal, you will primarily be covering the city of Salisbury, its surrounding villages and part of the New Forest. The role requires someone willing to get out and about as much as possible, who can make good contacts and who wants to establish themselves at the heart of the community. It will be essential that you live on the patch and work from our Salisbury office. You will be reporting on everything from local businesses and community events to crime, human-interest stories, court cases, local politics, and much more in between.

The successful candidate will be part of a team that also produces other weekly titles, the Hampshire Chronicle, Basingstoke Gazette, Romsey Advertiser and Andover Advertiser. We believe in being in the community in person as much as possible, and our reporters attend news events throughout the day, reporting for our website, social media feeds and print pages. Our office is in the city centre and is a great base to work from.

This role is a rare opportunity for someone to gain their journalist qualifications around work. You will study one day a week remotely with Darlington College over 18 months, working towards your NCTJ Preliminary Diploma (Level 5). For this, you will study shorthand, media law, reporting, public affairs and court reporting, while creating a portfolio of work to showcase. This role is primarily suited at an entry-level job in journalism. We have had previous success recruiting and training reporters through this scheme and welcome the diversity it brings to our newsrooms. As always, our reporting roles involve weekend work and occasional early and late shifts on a rota basis. The best stories typically do not happen in office hours!

Our reporters are expected to meet audience goals, which means learning how to find a good story, telling it across different platforms, and getting it in front of more people through social media and SEO. We also pay a quarterly monetary bonus for meeting and exceeding these targets.

Applications for this job will close on Sunday, February 1, at 5 pm. However, we may appoint earlier if the right candidate is found.

Key Responsibilities

• Willing to get out and about as much as possible
• Able to make good contacts
• Confident using AI
• Understand social media
• Comfortable creating videos and photographs
• Able to conduct interviews with sources
• Able to file clean, accurate and engaging copy

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Reporting on local businesses, community events, crime, human-interest stories, court cases and local politics
• Working as part of a team, producing multiple weekly titles
• Attending news events throughout the day and reporting across the website, social media and print pages
• Studying shorthand, media law, reporting, public affairs and court reporting
• Creating a portfolio of work to showcase
• Meeting audience goals through finding good stories, multi‑platform storytelling and using social media and SEO effectively
• Has access to a vehicle and a driving licence

Benefits

• 25 days holiday + bank holidays + your birthday off
• Holiday buy scheme for extra flexibility
• Structured career progression & ongoing training
• Pension plan & mental health support
• Perks & discounts including:
  • Gym membership
  • Cycle to Work scheme
  • Eye care vouchers (£50 towards glasses)
  • Retail discounts
• Team building days & annual volunteer charity day

About Newsquest Media Group

We are a media company with a difference. We are committed to bringing a voice to your region by investing in a passionate team of journalists who proudly serve their communities by sharing authoritative news that readers trust. Our sales teams provide local businesses with highly responsive digital advertising and marketing solutions.

We are one of the largest regional news publishers in the UK and have a portfolio of more than 250+ local news brands and magazines online and in print. With an online audience of 41 million users a month and 7 million readers a week in print, our content is read by a substantial proportion of the UK population.

In addition to our local news brands, we own several digital pure play and specialist media businesses such as s1jobs and s1homes, Exchange & Mart, and Newsquest Specialist Media. We also own LOCALiQ, an award-winning digital marketing agency that specialises in driving more leads, increasing online growth and generating return on marketing investment on behalf of thousands of UK SMBs.