High School Sports Reporter

advancelocalcareersite; Portland (OR); Hybrid; USD 59,000 - 69,000; Full time

Job summary

The Oregonian/OregonLive in Portland, Oregon, is seeking a High School Sports Reporter with a passion for writing about student-athletes and community impact. The role emphasizes timely breaking news, in-depth features, and digital subscriber growth with a hybrid work arrangement.

Ideal candidates will have journalism experience, strong deadline skills, and a commitment to reflecting underrepresented communities in sports coverage.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of 2 years of reporting experience.
• Good news judgment, ethics and story instincts.
• Ability to write on deadline and deliver under pressure.
• Comfort working in a hybrid environment and meeting deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Cover nearly 300 high schools across Oregon with game stories and features.
• Publish scoops and breaking news with urgency, monitor social media for updates.
• Produce previews, rankings, polls and awards across sports, especially football.
• Coordinate with editors to set coverage priorities and share progress.
• Develop sources among coaches and athletic directors and pitch enterprise stories.

Skills

News reporting

Deadline-driven writing

Social media

Video content

Hybrid work

Education

Bachelor’s degree in journalism

Job description

Strengthening and empowering all of the communities we serve.

The Oregonian/OregonLive in Portland, Oregon, is seeking a High School Sports Reporter with passion and flair for writing about high school sports and student-athletes — and who embraces how those stories build community connections.

Join a high-producing and award-winning Sports staff that this year earned six awards in the national Associated Press Sports Editors contest, including for high-school sports beat coverage.

We’re seeking someone who already is, or is eager to become, an expert on local sports teams and the players and coaches who propel them. We’re seeking someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment and is capable and excited about experimentation and delivering content in various story forms.

An emphasis for this position will be growing our base of digital subscribers. That means responding with urgency to breaking news, publishing scoops and delivering smart content in ways that meet readers and viewers where they are. That includes not only covering big games and writing about star student-athletes, but also delivering: in-depth season previews of players and teams; rankings and lists of teams and players; reader polls throughout the season; winners of all-conference and state awards across a variety of sports.

Experience producing social media, newsletter and video content is a plus.

The base pay for this position is $58,500 - $68,500 annually.

This is a hybrid position based in the Portland metro area. This position requires reliable transportation to meet with sources and cover games and events.

Applicants should submit a resume and 3 - 5 stories showcasing their reporting and writing skills.

What you’ll be doing:

• Covering the nearly 300 high schools around Oregon, writing and reporting the best stories about their teams and athletes, including game stories for important matchups, features about student-athletes or in-depth stories about elite players
• Delivering scoops and chase breaking news with urgency, including off-field issues. This includes actively monitoring social media for news, as many student-athletes share updates there first
• Delivering frequent installments of high-interest stories, including previews, rankings, lists, polls and awards across many sports, with a particular emphasis on football
• Monitoring the Oregon School Activities Association, the governing body that oversees policy, classification and districting changes and also regulates issues involving improper conduct
• Working collaboratively with sports editors to identify coverage priorities and communicate efficiently on progress or obstacles
• Reporting and writing stories independently, sometimes on tight deadlines
• Identifying and pitching features or investigative stories on sports trends for consideration and assignment by editors
• Developing strong working relationships with information sources such as coaches and athletic directors

Our ideal candidate will have the following:

• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communication, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• Minimum of 2 years of reporting experience
• Good news judgment, ethics and story instincts
• Ability to write on deadline
• Urgency when covering breaking news
• Ability to juggle multiple stories at once
• Familiarity with the Oregon sports landscape
• Strong organizational and communication skills
• Ability to work nights and weekends based on sports schedules
• Comfort working in a hybrid environment
• A commitment to reflect underrepresented communities in sports coverage
• Willingness to use AI and reader metrics to maximize audience reach