High School Sports Reporter — Scoops & Player Profiles

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

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) plan with company match

Paid time off and parental leave

Job summary

Oregonian/OregonLive in Portland, Oregon, seeks a High School Sports Reporter with passion for student-athlete storytelling and community-building. The role blends fast-paced reporting, feature-style pieces, and digital subscriber growth strategies across multiple formats.

Ideal candidates will cover nearly 300 high schools, produce game stories, previews, rankings, polls and awards, and monitor Oregon School Activities Association developments, with an emphasis on football and timely breaking

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communication, or related field or equivalent 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.
• Commitment to reflect underrepresented communities in sports coverage.
• Willingness to use AI and reader metrics to maximize audience reach.

Responsibilities

• Cover the nearly 300 high schools around Oregon, writing and reporting the best stories about their teams and athletes.
• Deliver scoops and chase breaking news with urgency, monitoring social media for updates.
• Deliver frequent installments of high-interest stories across many sports, with emphasis on football.
• Monitor the Oregon School Activities Association and reporting policy changes.
• Collaborate with sports editors to identify coverage priorities and communicate progress.
• Report and write independently, sometimes under tight deadlines.
• Pitch features or investigative stories on sports trends for editors.
• Develop strong relationships with coaches and athletic directors.

Skills

News reporting

Deadline writing

Social media

Audience growth

Hybrid work

Oregon sports

Education

Bachelor's degree in journalism

Job description

Oregonian/OregonLive in Portland, Oregon, seeks a High School Sports Reporter with passion for student-athlete storytelling and community-building. The role blends fast-paced reporting, feature-style pieces, and digital subscriber growth strategies across multiple formats.

Ideal candidates will cover nearly 300 high schools, produce game stories, previews, rankings, polls and awards, and monitor Oregon School Activities Association developments, with an emphasis on football and timely breaking