Trainee Reporter

Newsquest; Dunfermline; On-site; GBP 10,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job description

Trainee Reporter

Application Deadline: 9 May 2025

Department: Editorial

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: Dunfermline

Reporting To: Robert Scott

Description

Newsquest Scotland is seeking an ambitious trainee reporter to join our team based in Dunfermline.

Since 1859, the Dunfermline Press has been setting the news agenda in West Fife.

An opportunity has now arisen for a dedicated reporter to join the company’s flagship Fife title and contribute to the continued success of its sister titles, the Central Fife Times and Alloa Advertiser.

Key Responsibilities

We are seeking an ambitious, digitally skilled and versatile journalist to unearth the best breaking news, features, leisure and trending stories on an incredibly lively patch.

A big part of the job will be immersing yourself in social media, developing relationships and understanding what matters to the community.

We want you to tell the stories our audiences care about – from championing the best of our local communities, to covering crime and local business, food and drink and entertainment. You’ll also ask the questions that hold power to account.

Skills, Knowledge & Expertise

Ideally, you will be an outstanding trainee with NCTJ preliminary qualifications and 100wpm shorthand.

If you have a journalism degree that is not NCTJ-accredited, we will provide the relevant additional training to become a fully NCTJ-qualified journalist.

A driving licence is essential, as is access to a car.

You’ll also have:

• Excellent knowledge of relevant media law
• A versatile, fresh and energetic writing style
• Exceptional attention to detail
• The ability to write and think quickly under pressure
• An adaptable style to produce everything from live blogs and listicles to long-reads and features
• Skills in shooting and editing video, as well as online tools and apps for producing images and audio
• Bags of ideas for how stories can be presented in the best possible way for our audiences
• Knowledge of SEO and its importance to digital journalism
• Excellent social media skills and the ability to spot stories and trending topics
• Great people skills and the ability to get on with a wide range of people in the community
• A high level of organisation and the ability to manage your diary
• Collaborative skills to pool ideas with the wider digital reporting team and take on board suggestions.