Freelance Reporter: Lyons & Eastern Wayne County

Finger Lakes Daily News; Town of Lyons (NY); Hybrid; USD 40,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Finger Lakes Daily News in upstate New York is seeking a reporter to cover Lyons and eastern Wayne County, including town boards, schools, courts, police and fire, and local business openings. You’ll pitch own stories and take assignments from the News Director when events break.

You’ll file clean, accurate copy on deadline (most stories 300–600 words) and submit at least one usable photo with every story. Strong reporting, interview, and fairness are essential; reliability and local knowledge

Qualifications

• You live in Lyons and eastern Wayne County and know the towns, not just the county name.
• Solid writing and interviewing skills. You can get a public official on the phone and ask the follow-up question.
• A real commitment to accuracy and fairness. We run corrections publicly and would rather not have to.
• Reliable transportation and the ability to get to a meeting or a scene.
• Comfortable filing by email, or in WordPress if you've used it.
• Willing to disclose anything that would conflict with covering your community: an elected seat, a board appointment, a PR or campaign client. We can work around most of them.
• Reporting experience helps, but a track record of getting things right matters more than a degree.
• Working journalists, retired journalists, freelance writers, and students are all encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities

• Cover Lyons and eastern Wayne County: town and village boards, school districts, courts, police and fire, business openings and closings, and the community events people actually turn out for
• Pitch stories out of your own community, and take assignments from our News Director when something breaks near you
• File clean, accurate copy on deadline. Most stories run 300 to 600 words
• Send at least one usable photo with every story. A phone camera is fine
• Get names, titles, and numbers right the first time, and tell us fast if something needs correcting
• Be reachable when news happens on your beat, even if you can't always take it
• Work with our newsroom when a story is worth adapting for broadcast

Skills

Writing skills

Interviewing

Accuracy

Public contacting

Flexibility

Tools

WordPress

Job description

Responsibilities

• Cover Lyons and eastern Wayne County: town and village boards, school districts, courts, police and fire, business openings and closings, and the community events people actually turn out for
• Pitch stories out of your own community, and take assignments from our News Director when something breaks near you
• File clean, accurate copy on deadline. Most stories run 300 to 600 words
• Send at least one usable photo with every story. A phone camera is fine
• Get names, titles, and numbers right the first time, and tell us fast if something needs correcting
• Be reachable when news happens on your beat, even if you can't always take it
• Work with our newsroom when a story is worth adapting for broadcast

Qualifications

• You live in or near Lyons and eastern Wayne County and know the towns, not just the county name
• Solid writing and interviewing skills. You can get a public official on the phone and ask the follow-up question
• A real commitment to accuracy and fairness. We run corrections publicly and would rather not have to
• Reliable transportation and the ability to get to a meeting or a scene
• Comfortable filing by email, or in WordPress if you've used it
• Willing to disclose anything that would conflict with covering your community: an elected seat, a board appointment, a PR or campaign client. We can work around most of them. We can't work around the ones we don't know about.
• Reporting experience helps, but a track record of getting things right matters more than a degree
• Working journalists, retired journalists, freelance writers, and students are all encouraged to apply