Food Reporter

The Dallas Morning News; Dallas (TX); Hybrid; USD 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work week

Professional development

Job summary

The Dallas Morning News is seeking a tenacious Food Reporter to cover North Texas’ dynamic food scene. You’ll report on breaking news, trends, openings and closings, with a digital-first approach and strong sourcing.

You’ll generate pitches via social media and collaborate across newsroom teams to deliver compelling local restaurant coverage. Expect a fast-paced, high‑metabolism role that values SEO, headlines and audience engagement.

Qualifications

• Three years of daily reporting experience or equivalent.
• Strong news judgment, speed, accuracy and headlines.
• Ability to work remotely via smartphone or laptop.

Responsibilities

• Write quickly and accurately on food and restaurant topics with local focus.
• Develop deep sourcing in local dining to break stories.
• Cover restaurant openings/closings and identify trends.
• Collaborate with restaurant critic on Top 100 guide and more.
• Write monthly roundups on topics like closings.
• Use social media to develop story ideas and engage audience.
• Build stories with links, SEO and multimedia when appropriate.
• Work with editors on new coverage models for digital audience.
• Assist with digital projects, including video/audio.

Skills

Daily reporting

Social media usage

SEO/content optimization

Digital content management

Collaboration across teams

Pitching and idea generation

Tools

CMS

Analytics tooling

Social media management tools

Job description

Role Overview

North Texas has one of the most dynamic and diverse food scenes in the country. The Dallas Morning News is looking for a tenacious reporter to cover it, from breaking news to viral trends. The Food Reporter on this team writes about the food, restaurant and dining news D-FW readers are most eager to read. This is a high‑metabolism job for a fast and urgent newshound who thrives on scoops and developing great stories and deep sourcing. This reporter is nimble and excited about breaking news, what's trending and expanding conversations readers are having online. Ideal candidates will be well-versed in using social media to generate pitches and report stories. They will bring knowledge of food, restaurants and dining, and constantly generate their own story ideas.

Hybrid

Hearst Newspapers operates on a hybrid work week schedule.

What You’ll Do

• Write quickly and accurately on a variety of food and restaurant topics, with a local focus.
• Develop deep sourcing in the local food and dining industry to break stories.
• Cover prominent restaurant openings and closings, looking for trends.
• Work with the restaurant critic on the Top 100 restaurant guide and more.
• Write monthly roundups on topics such as restaurant closings.
• Use social media as a tool to develop story ideas and respond to what our audience is talking about.
• Build stories with links, tags, SEO best practices, attractive web headlines and multimedia when appropriate.
• Work with editors to develop new models for coverage that resonates with our digital audience.
• Assist with special digital projects, including video and audio projects, as needed.

What You’ll Bring

• At least three years of daily reporting experience.
• Excellent news judgment, accuracy, speed, grammatical precision, a flair for headlines, energy, curiosity and an ability to provide the best local restaurant coverage with impact, excitement and an eye toward digital success.
• Proficiency in digital content management tools.
• Ability to use social media for newsgathering and audience development.
• Demonstrated ability to work remotely via smartphone or laptop computer.
• Understanding of platforms and audiences and ability to compose stories appropriate to the platform of publication (e.g., voice, style, formatting, hyperlinks).
• Deep knowledge of SEO techniques and digital best practices.
• Ability to use accepted newsroom tools for planning, authoring, communicating, etc.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with team members and across newsroom teams.
• Ability to operate in a fast-paced environment, producing stories quickly and accurately.
• Knowledge of digital news analytics.
• Valid driver's license and registered vehicle to travel to assignments.

Work Smarter with AI

• Generate headline options, SEO keywords or alert language.
• Clean up grammar, apply style and improve clarity.
• Version stories for different formats (video, audio) or platforms (social media).
• Monitor public meetings and get alerts with transcripts and video.
• Process and summarize data with AI assistance, human-verified before use.

Advanced AI is not a journalist, but it can facilitate and accelerate the work of journalism.

Additional Information

• Sponsorship: This position does not provide immigration sponsorship. Applicants must have the right to work in the U.S. without immigration sponsorship.
• Accommodations: We are committed to an accessible application process. If you need an accommodation to apply, please contact [e-mail] . This email address is for accommodation requests only.

Benefits

We support our employees through personal and professional development and promote physical, financial and emotional wellbeing for employees and their families. Our benefits include:

• Physical Wellbeing: Medical, dental and vision coverage to help keep you and your family healthy.
• Invest for the Future: Competitive retirement plan with a matching program in most markets.
• Generous Paid Time Off: Ample time off, including holidays and vacation.
• Paid Parental Leave: Paid leave to support growing families and new parents.
• Monthly Child & Dependent Care Reimbursement: Financial support for the care of your loved ones.
• Emotional Wellbeing: Mental wellness benefits to support your emotional wellbeing.
• LGBTQ+ & Inclusive Health Services: Inclusive healthcare designed for individual needs.
• Fertility Coverage & Menopause Support: Support throughout different stages of your health and family journey.
• Pet Wellness Reimbursement & Rover Credits: Support to help keep your pets happy and healthy.
• And more: Learn more about additional benefits and details here .