Food Writer

The Philadelphia Inquirer; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 60,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

The Philadelphia Inquirer is seeking a reporter-writer to shine a light on underrecognized food scenes across the Philadelphia region, including suburbs. You’ll join a team of food writing professionals and build a high profile by exploring offbeat neighborhoods and guides to help readers discover great places to eat.

You’ll travel regionally, file multiple stories weekly, contribute to annual restaurant roundups, and collaborate with social and video teams to tell stories across platforms.

Qualifications

• 3+ years writing experience or equivalent, with a background in food reporting.
• Strong reporting chops and the ability to go into new communities to find stories.
• Knows Philly and its suburbs well or is willing to invest time to learn.
• Social media savvy, especially Instagram and / or TikTok.
• Valid driver's license and reliable transportation to hit the road for storytelling.
• Willingness to be a public-facing persona with regular on-camera appearances.
• Reporting and research skills to become a subject matter expert and cut through hype.
• Strong writing skills with versatility across formats and a conversational voice.
• Brainstorming, planning, and coordinating multimedia storytelling.
• Audience awareness: bring service-oriented ideas and measure their impact.

Responsibilities

• Travel around the Philadelphia region to cover suburbs and beyond.
• File multiple stories weekly with news, critical takes, trend coverage, profiles, etc.
• Contribute to food guides and maps covering bakeries to diverse cuisines.
• Collaborate with the food staff and other newsroom teams on expansive projects.
• Work with social and video teams to package content for social platforms.

Job description

A reporter-writer eager to shine light on underrecognized food scenes and off-the-beaten-path restaurants. Will join an existing team of food writing professionals and build a high profile by covering the suburbs as well as the non-Center City, non-Fishtown parts of Philadelphia to discover new scenes, trends and restaurants, with an emphasis on service and guides to help our readers find great new places to eat. The right person for this job will have an eye for what’s interesting and news-worthy outside of the restaurant hype cycle.

What You’ll Do

• Travel around the Philadelphia region - Northeast Philadelphia, Montco, Delco, Bucks, North Philly, South Jersey - to get a sense of the food scene beyond what goes on downtown and Fishtown/Northern Liberties
• File multiple times a week with news, critical takes, taste reports, trend coverage, profiles, etc. We want to deepen coverage of what our audience already craves from the Inquirer while evolving the ways that we tell stories and the platforms that we tell them on
• Regularly conceive and contribute to food guides and maps that cover the entire region, from bakeries in South Jersey to post-Soviet cuisine in the Northeast to the best strip mall dining off of route 202
• Contribute to our including our annual collection of the area’s most important restaurants
• Work with existing food staff and across the newsroom on expansive collaborative projects that help define what matters in the Philly food scene
• Collaborate with other newsroom teams when cross-beat stories occur, working with the expertise of other editors and reporters
• Work with social and video teams to package content for social media, including camera-facing work allowing them to grow into a food personality who represents the Inquirer
• Contribute to an inclusive and positive work environment

Who We’re Looking For

• 3+ years writing experience or equivalent, with a background in food reporting
• Strong reporting chops and the ability to go into new communities to find stories
• Someone who knows Philly and its suburbs well or is willing to put in the time to do so
• Social media savvy (especially Instagram and / or TikTok)
• A valid drivers license & reliable transportation, and a desire to hit the road in search of what’s new and interesting
• Willingness to be a public-facing persona, with regular appearances on camera
• Reporting and research skills necessary to become a subject matter expert and cut through hype
• Strong writing skills, including use of alternative story forms and conversational voice
• Skills in brainstorming, planning, and coordinating multimedia storytelling
• Audience awareness: come in with ideas about the service you are providing that no one else is doing in this space, and then be prepared to evaluate the success of those ideas and pivot based on analytics and feedback

Other Things To Know

About Us.

The Philadelphia Inquirer is the media brand of record in Philadelphia and the region, and the largest news media organization in the state of Pennsylvania. A daily habit for almost 200 years, The Inquirer delivers Pulitzer Prize-winning news, sports, food, and lifestyle journalism multi-platform: Inquirer.com, Inquirer newspaper, e-editions, apps, newsletters, social, video, podcasts, and live events, generating 15M monthly impressions. Locally owned and headquartered in Philadelphia, no media brand is more deeply connected to the city or better understands what drives it. Our influence also extends across key drive markets, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and New York, as well as to Philadelphia expats who live across the country and root for the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, Flyers, and the Union.

The Inquirer is an equal opportunity employer for all regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, and any other category protected by federal, state and/or local law.