Arts, Culture & Events Reporter

LINK Media; Covington (KY); On-site; USD 42,000 - 47,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full benefits package

PTO & paid holidays

Equipment provided

Job summary

CityBeat, part of LINK Media, is seeking an Arts, Culture & Events Reporter to own coverage of Cincinnati's creative scene. The role emphasizes embedding with the local arts community, developing sources, and producing timely, engaging stories across venues, theaters, galleries and festivals.

The position reports to the Community Editor and includes five bylines weekly, daily briefs, and a mix of enterprise pieces, with full benefits, PTO, and equipment provided. Based in Covington, KY.

Qualifications

• Experience reporting on arts, culture, entertainment, lifestyle or community topics — professional, freelance or collegiate.
• Strong writing, interviewing and storytelling skills, particularly the ability to capture scene, voice and atmosphere.
• Familiarity with Cincinnati's creative community, or a deep curiosity to dive in fast.
• The ability to balance quick-turn daily work with longer-form enterprise reporting.
• Comfort working across platforms — digital, social and print.
• Strong collaboration, communication and deadline management.

Responsibilities

• Report and write assignments with multiple interviews and sources, roughly five bylines per week.
• Own the beat by identifying new coverage ideas and breaking news in arts and culture.
• Attend events, performances and press events as needed, including nights and weekends.
• Cover visual arts, theater, music, film, nightlife, festivals and neighborhood culture.
• Develop and maintain sources across the arts and cultural communities.

Skills

Arts reporting

Interviewing

Storytelling

Cross-platform

Deadline management

Transportation

Job description

CityBeat is looking for a curious, plugged-in, energetic Arts, Culture & Events Reporter to own our coverage of what Cincinnati is watching, listening to, experiencing and arguing about.

This is the beat for someone who wants to be genuinely embedded in Cincinnati's creative community — visual arts, theater, live music, film, nightlife, festivals, museums, cultural institutions, local personalities, and the people shaping the character of our neighborhoods.

You should know what's happening before everyone else does, or know exactly who to call to find out.

The job is to break arts and culture news, develop original stories, build real sources across the region, and make CityBeat the first place people go when they're asking the question that drives our audience: What should I do in Cincinnati?

This position reports to the Community Editor and works closely with CityBeat's reporters, contributors and videographer.

Pay Range - $42,000 - $47,000, depending on experience, plus full benefits — medical, dental, vision and life. PTO and paid holidays. All the equipment you need to do the job.

What You'll Do

Report and write

• Roughly five reported bylines a week, generally with multiple interviews and sources
• Around two short news briefs a day — announcements, openings and closings, artist and venue news, event developments, and other timely items from the beat
• CityBeat's weekly Things to Do in Cincinnati This Weekend guide
• At least one additional listicle a week on things to see, do or experience around the region

Own the beat

• Take charge of CityBeat's broader Things to Do in Cincinnati coverage — identifying new guide ideas, seasonal opportunities, and evergreen topics that deserve coverage or an update
• Break news about Cincinnati's arts and cultural community: venue openings and closures, leadership changes, cancellations, major announcements, controversies, and everything else that moves
• Develop and maintain sources across the arts, entertainment and cultural communities
• Cover visual arts, theater, music, film, nightlife, festivals, museums, cultural institutions, local personalities and neighborhood culture

Show up

• Attend concerts, performances, gallery openings, festivals and press events throughout the region when the coverage calls for it. This beat happens at night and on weekends, and it happens in person.

What We're Looking For

• Experience reporting on arts, culture, entertainment, lifestyle or community topics — professional, freelance or collegiate
• Strong writing, interviewing and storytelling skills, particularly the ability to capture scene, voice and atmosphere
• Familiarity with Cincinnati's creative community, or a deep curiosity to dive in fast
• The ability to balance quick-turn daily work with longer-form enterprise reporting
• Comfort working across platforms — digital, social and print
• Strong collaboration, communication and deadline management
• Flexibility for event-based coverage outside regular business hours
• Sound news judgment and the ability to produce fast, thorough, accurate reporting with minimal supervision
• Reliable transportation

What You Can Expect from Us

• Full benefits package — medical, dental, vision and life
• PTO and paid holidays
• All the equipment you need to do your job
• Editorial support and a newsroom that will help you get better
• A real beat with real ownership — this is your territory, not a rotation
• A giant newsroom full of tiny desks in beautiful downtown Covington, KY

You'll Need to Share Our Mission and Uphold Our Guiding Principles

Mission

LINK Media (CityBeat's parent company) strengthens vibrant communities through independent, sustainable local journalism.

Guiding Principles:

We are

Solutions-Focused: We don’t just report the news of the day. We dig deeper, informing our audience about how our community might solve its biggest issues.

Unapologetic Community Fans: We believe in this community—in what it is today, and what it has the potential to become. We want to see this community advance, and we understand the part that we play in that advancement.

Inclusive: We explore the issues that affect all of our readers, and give a voice to all segments of our diverse community.

Good Stewards: It is our responsibility to make good use of our resources and to maintain a sustainable business model, so that we may serve the community long into the future.

Independent: The publication does not make endorsements, and has a commitment to fact-based reporting about the issues that are facing our community. In addition to our reporting, outside opinions from multiple viewpoints will be sought, and clearly marked as such, in order to provide the robust debate that our community needs to make critical decisions about our collective future.

LINK is an equal opportunity employer. LINK prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type and affords equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. LINK conforms to the spirit as well as to the letter of all applicable laws and regulations.