Journalist (North East & Cumbria) - EXTEND

BBC; Middlesbrough; Hybrid; GBP 27,000 - 33,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent broadcaster is seeking a seasoned journalist for the North East & Cumbria team to create compelling content for digital platforms. This exciting role emphasizes original storytelling and audience engagement, requiring expertise in a fast-paced news environment. Join a dynamic team where your skills will contribute to impactful journalism across multiple media channels.

Qualifications

• Experience in delivering original journalism in a daily news environment.
• Ability to write accurate and concise copy quickly.
• Understanding of media law and BBC’s editorial guidelines.

Responsibilities

• Produce and write news content for the BBC website and social media.
• Generate story ideas and ensure output appeals to diverse audiences.
• Adapt to changing demands of a digital working environment.

Skills

Editorial judgement

Clean writing

Social media understanding

SEO knowledge

Audience analytics

Job description

Journalist (North East & Cumbria) - EXTEND

BBC Middlesbrough, England, United Kingdom

4 days ago Be among the first 25 applicants

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JOB DETAILS

JOB BAND: C

CONTRACT TYPE: Permanent, Full-time.

DEPARTMENT: North East Online

LOCATION: Either the BBC’s Newcastle, Middlesbrough or Carlisle office – Hybrid.

PROPOSED SALARY RANGE: £27,300 - £33,000 depending on relevant skills, knowledge and experience. The expected salary range for this role reflects internal benchmarking and external market insights.

We're happy to discuss flexible working. If you'd like to, please indicate your preference in the application – though there's no obligation to do so now. Flexible working will be part of the discussion at offer stage.

The role requires weekend working and early and late shifts and is a mixture of office and remote working

BBC EXTEND

This role is advertised as part of our BBC Extend programme for disabled people. To apply for this role you should identify as deaf, disabled or neurodivergent and must meet either the definition of disability in the Equality Act (2010), or the definition of disability in the Disability Discrimination Act (1995) if applying in Northern Ireland. You’re broadly defined as disabled under both acts if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative or adverse effect on your ability to do normal daily activities. This definition includes both apparent and non-apparent conditions and impairments, and medical conditions such as Cancer, HIV or Multiple Sclerosis.

We are committed to making the process of applying for this role as accessible as possible. If you need to discuss adjustments or access requirements for the application process, or have any questions about our Extend programme, please [e-mail].

The BBC are fully committed to providing workplace adjustments to help eliminate barriers in the workface that disabled people face. To do this, we have our own dedicated BBC Access and Disability Service that provides assessments and support throughout employment with us. If you are successful in applying for this role and require workplace adjustments, we will work with you to get your adjustments in place.

If you’d like more information on BBC Extend, please visit the BBC Extend webpage. (EXTEND code: EX2324).

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

We are looking for an experienced and driven journalist to join the North East & Cumbria digital team, producing engaging and impactful content for both local audiences and broader national and international platforms via the BBC News website and social media. This is a digital-first storytelling role, requiring substantial experience in daily news environments. While the core of your work will be online, you'll also have opportunities to develop your skills across radio and TV—with training provided if needed—to help share your stories in the most effective and creative ways.

This role is ideal for a journalist with a passion for uncovering original, audience-focused stories that reflect the diversity of the North East and Cumbria. We’re looking for someone who thrives on generating ideas beyond the press release, with the instinct to find and tell the stories that truly resonate with people across the region.

WHY JOIN THE TEAM

Join a creative, ambitious, and welcoming team at the forefront of digital storytelling in the North East and Cumbria. Working here means being part of a newsroom that values original journalism, diverse voices, and stories that make an impact—both locally and beyond. You'll have the opportunity to grow your skills across digital, radio, and TV platforms, supported by colleagues who are collaborative, driven, and passionate about reaching new audiences. If you're excited by the idea of finding untold stories, trying new treatments, and creating meaningful content that truly connects, this is the team for you.

Your Key Responsibilities And Impact

• Producing and writing news content for the BBC website and social media accounts for the North East & Cumbria and beyond
• Producing fast, accurate copy to tight deadlines and understanding how to use images, video and headlines to enhance your copy and make it appealing to our audience
• Responsible for originating and producing stories for the BBC website which can also be used on other outlets, as well as turning around content from wires and press releases
• Working with colleagues to ensure all our journalism works across digital, TV and radio platforms. Coming up with story and feature ideas which help us represent the many different sides of life in the region
• Using different news treatments to ensure that our output reflects and appeals to the audiences we serve.
• Use social and video to help your journalism travel further either on your own or working with our social and video specialists
• You need to be adept at technology, picking up new skills and adapting to the changing demands of a digital working environment
  
  

Essential Criteria

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Have substantial experience of working in a daily news environment and an ability to deliver original journalism
• The ability to write clean, accurate and concise copy with quick turnaround times
• Have sound editorial judgement, making decisions on matters of editorial sensitivity under pressure
• A good understanding of media law and the BBC’s editorial guidelines
• Be familiar with social media in a news context and know how to make the most of various platforms to reach a range of audiences
• Understanding of SEO within a news context to help our stories reach the people most interested in and impacted by them
• An understanding of using audience analytics to inform our journalism and a keen eye for strong imagery to make stories stand out online and be able do basic photo editing
  
  

If you can bring some of these skills and experience, along with transferable strengths, we’d love to hear from you and encourage you to apply.

Disclaimer

This job description is a written statement of the essential characteristics of the job, with its principal accountabilities, incorporating a note of the skills, knowledge and experience required for a satisfactory level of performance. This is not intended to be a complete, detailed account of all aspects of the duties involved.

Please note: If you were to be offered this role, the BBC will conduct Employment screening checks which include Reference checks; Eligibility to work checks; and if applicable to the role, Safeguarding and Adverse media/Social media checks. Any offer made is conditional on these checks being satisfactory.

For any general queries, please contact: [e-mail]

Redeployment

The BBC is committed to redeploying employees seeking suitable alternative employment within the BBC and they will be given priority consideration ahead of other applicants. Priority consideration means for those employees seeking redeployment their application will be considered alongside anyone else at risk of redundancy, prior to any individuals being considered who are not at risk.

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Marketing, Public Relations, and Writing/Editing

• Industries

  Broadcast Media Production and Distribution

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