Reporter – Energy Markets, Industry Coverage

Crain Communications; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 54,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive benefits including retirement plan

Bonus opportunities based on performance

Job summary

Crain Communications is seeking an enterprising reporter for Hart Energy to cover the energy sector with sharp reporting and deep industry knowledge. You'll break news, produce analytical pieces, and maintain relationships with industry stakeholders while participating in various initiatives.

The successful candidate requires strong writing, reporting, and analytical skills, along with the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, digital-first environment. This role is primarily located in Houston, TX, with remote flexibility for qualified candidates.

Qualifications

• Three or more years of reporting experience in business, energy, finance, or related industries.
• Demonstrated ability to break news and cultivate reliable industry sources.
• Comfort working in a digital-first environment.

Responsibilities

• Break news and deliver exclusive reporting on developments across the energy industry.
• Cover a broad range of topics, including oil and gas operations and market trends.
• Generate original story ideas that align with audience interests.

Skills

News writing

Reporting

Interviewing

Fact-checking

Digital publishing skills

Analytical skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, or related field

Tools

Analytics tools

Research databases

Job description

Hart Energy is seeking an enterprising reporter to cover the energy industry for an audience that expects sharp reporting, deep industry knowledge, and actionable insight. This role sits at the center of our newsroom's mission: delivering exclusive news, meaningful analysis, and authoritative coverage that helps energy professionals make informed decisions.

The successful candidate will cover developments across the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, technology, policy, energy transition initiatives, and market trends. The reporter will be expected to break news, cultivate industry sources, and produce coverage that goes beyond daily headlines to explain what developments mean for companies, investors, and the broader energy landscape.

This is a digital-first role in a fast-moving newsroom. You'll publish throughout the day, contribute to newsletters and special reports, leverage analytics to understand audience engagement, and collaborate with editors and colleagues to develop impactful journalism. You'll also have opportunities to participate in Hart Energy's conferences, podcasts, webinars, and other industry-facing initiatives.

Success in this role requires curiosity, strong reporting instincts, a willingness to learn complex topics, and the ability to identify important stories before competitors do. While modern digital and AI-powered tools are part of our workflow, great journalism at Hart Energy remains rooted in reporting, source development, accuracy, and storytelling.

What You’ll Do

• Break news and deliver exclusive reporting on developments across the energy industry.
• Cover a broad range of topics including oil and gas operations, markets, corporate strategy, M&A, finance, policy, technology, and energy transition trends.
• Produce quick‑turn news stories, feature articles, enterprise reporting, and analytical pieces.
• Build and maintain relationships with executives, investors, analysts, regulators, and industry stakeholders.
• Monitor company filings, earnings reports, transactions, commodity markets, regulatory developments, and industry data to identify stories ahead of competitors.
• Generate original story ideas that align with audience interests and evolving industry priorities.
• Collaborate with editors, audience teams, and fellow journalists to shape coverage and maximize impact.
• Contribute to newsletters, social media promotion, and digital publishing initiatives.
• Participate in Hart Energy conferences, webinars, podcasts, awards programs, and other editorial events as needed.
• Stay informed about technological innovation, market dynamics, policy developments, and forces reshaping the energy sector.

What You’ll Bring

• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Three or more years of reporting experience, preferably in business, energy, finance, or related industries.
• Demonstrated ability to break news and cultivate reliable industry sources.
• Strong writing, reporting, interviewing, and fact‑checking skills.
• Ability to produce accurate, engaging copy under deadline pressure.
• Excellent news judgment and the ability to identify meaningful developments within complex industries.
• Comfort working in a digital‑first environment and managing multiple assignments simultaneously.
• Ability to interpret financial statements, regulatory filings, market data, research reports, and industry trends.
• Familiarity with digital publishing platforms, analytics tools, research databases, and AI‑enabled reporting tools.
• Proven ability to develop enterprise stories that provide context, analysis, and value beyond breaking news.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience covering oil and gas, energy markets, commodities, finance, infrastructure, or industrial sectors.
• Familiarity with SEC filings, earnings reports, and capital markets activity.
• Understanding of upstream, midstream, and energy transition sectors.
• Experience producing newsletters, multimedia content, podcasts, or event‑related journalism.
• A portfolio demonstrating both breaking news capability and in‑depth reporting.
• Existing industry contacts within the energy sector are a plus.

Why Join Hart Energy?

Hart Energy offers the opportunity to cover one of the world's most important industries from its epicenter in Houston. You'll join a respected newsroom with deep industry expertise, engage directly with influential executives and decision‑makers, and contribute to journalism that informs energy leaders around the globe.

Location:

Houston, TX with in‑office presence three days a week highly preferred. For the highly qualified person we are open to remote from a state Crain does business in. Will work CT hours.

Pay Transparency Disclosure:

The estimated salary range for this position is $54,000 to $85,000.

The final salary offering will take into account a wide range of factors, including experience, accomplishments and location. The salary range provided should not be considered as a salary limit or cap. In addition to base salary, Crain also offers competitive benefits including retirement plan savings contributions and bonus opportunities based on individual and company performance.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60‑1.35(c)