Trending/Breaking/Video Reporter

Agupdate; Sarasota (FL); On-site; USD 45,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Agupdate in Sarasota is looking for The Trending/Breaking/Video Reporter to cover a wide range of fast-moving topics, including crime, traffic, weather, breaking business openings and closings, and high-interest trends.

The reporter will identify timely stories, shoot video and photos, produce quick videos, access public records, build sources, and analyze data with audience engagement in mind; occasional field reporting and AI-assisted tools are encouraged.

Qualifications

• Fundamental reporter skills: researching, interviewing and fact-checking.
• Ability to shoot video and photographs for quick news content.
• Familiarity with analytics and data sources, including Google Trends.

Responsibilities

• Cover crime and public safety, traffic and weather developments, breaking business news, and trending topics.
• Identify timely stories and be first in market on major breaking events when possible.
• Produce quick videos and photo galleries; sometimes video-only content.
• Access public records, build sources, conduct interviews, and analyze data for reporting.
• Engage audiences on social platforms and use AI tools to improve reporting.

Job description

The Trending/Breaking/Video Reporter will cover a wide and fast-moving range of topics, including:
Crime and public safety
Traffic and weather developments
Breaking business news, including openings and closings
High-interest, trending topics of the day

This reporter will be responsible for quickly identifying and executing on timely, high-interest news and will be expected to be first in market on major breaking stories whenever possible. The role will also support ReNewsing Florida state news initiatives and contribute to Connect team coverage, ensuring strong collaboration across the network.

This reporter will be on top of breaking news and what's trending each day, sometimes writing multiple times per day while also shooting video and photos. This person will be expected to be among the newsroom's top pageview producers.

They will create quick videos and photo galleries for almost every story, and at times produce video-only content. This reporter will need to have the fundamental skills of a reporter, including accessing public records (such as police reports and body-camera and surveillance video), building sources, conducting interviews, and finding, analyzing and interpreting data.

They will need to understand analytics, including Google Trends, and be active on social channels to identify emerging topics and audience interests. They will also be active in requesting user-generated content from social platforms and other sources. Embracing artificial intelligence as a tool to improve reporting and efficiency is expected.

This reporter will localize national and state stories for our audience and may work with other reporters and editors to create alternate URLs from existing stories. They will occasionally report in the field on topics ranging from business openings and closings to major breaking news, including hurricanes and tent-pole events. The schedule may include working Tuesdays through Saturdays.