Business Journalist

Salary: $55,000–$65,000 based on experience
Location: Chicago, IL (In-Office)

About the role

Mainland is looking for an exceptional Staff Writer who loves finding great stories and telling them in a way people actually want to read. Every week, you'll interview founders, franchisees, executives, and industry leaders, then turn those conversations into compelling editorial content published across Mainland's media network, including 1851 Franchise and our portfolio of publications. This is a journalism-first position for someone who is naturally curious, asks thoughtful questions, uncovers angles others miss, and can produce polished stories with minimal editing.

Responsibilities

• Interview & Story Development
  • Conduct interviews with founders, executives, franchisees, and business leaders
  • Research industries, brands, and trends before every interview
  • Identify compelling story angles instead of simply reporting information
  • Build trust with interview subjects and make conversations engaging
• Writing
  • Write feature stories, news articles, profiles, executive interviews, and thought leadership
  • Produce clean first drafts that require minimal editing
  • Adapt your writing style across dozens of different brands
  • Meet aggressive deadlines while maintaining quality
• Editorial Excellence
  • Maintain Mainland's editorial standards across every story
  • Ensure every article is accurate, engaging, and well sourced
  • Collaborate with editors to continually improve your work
  • Incorporate SEO best practices without sacrificing readability
• Collaboration
  • Work closely with editors, account managers, PR, and digital teams
  • Manage multiple assignments simultaneously
  • Communicate proactively about deadlines and project status
  • Accept feedback professionally and continuously improve

What success looks like

Within your first 90 days, you will:

• Consistently deliver articles on deadline
• Conduct confident, engaging interviews
• Produce stories requiring minimal editorial revisions
• Demonstrate the ability to identify unique story angles
• Become a trusted writer for multiple client accounts

Requirements

• 3–7+ years of journalism, editorial, or professional writing experience
• Excellent interviewing skills
• Exceptional writing and editing ability
• Strong curiosity and news judgment
• Ability to manage multiple deadlines in a fast-paced environment
• Experience writing business, franchise, entrepreneurial, or B2B content is a plus
• Comfortable learning AI tools to improve research and efficiency (not to replace original reporting)
• Bachelor's degree in Journalism, Communications, English, or related field preferred

You're the right fit if you...

• Love interviewing people more than sitting behind a keyboard
• Can take a 30-minute conversation and find the one story worth telling
• Hate clichés and generic business writing
• Write quickly without sacrificing quality
• Take pride in requiring very little editing
• Care about deadlines as much as the quality of your work
• Are naturally curious and ask better questions than everyone else