Sports Reporter

About the role

The Naples Daily News, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK, is seeking a reporter to join their sports team. This position focuses on creating impactful stories in Collier County and the rest of southwest Florida, covering high school sports, professional golf, and other topics.

Responsibilities

• Think digital first and focus on USA TODAY Florida Sports Network’s audience, engagement, and revenue goals.
• Produce and edit video and engage the audience on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and X.
• Analyze and interpret metrics to guide coverage decisions and use SEO techniques to drive audience through Google and search engines.
• Build sources, break news, create top-shelf enterprise stories, and tell compelling stories for the digital audience.
• Play a leading role in strategy development and identify innovative techniques on the beat, including rankings, athlete and team of the week polls, players lists, and all-area teams.
• Work with the USA TODAY Network Florida team to grow coverage throughout the state, including with polls, recruiting, and trending stories.
• Adapt, adapt, and suggest best practices to help the company achieve audience, engagement, and revenue goals.
• Meet all deadlines assigned by editors and planners, optimizing content’s reach on multiple platforms including digital, print, and social.
• Develop relationships through in-person interaction, phone calls, text messaging, and social media.
• Collaborate with others to benefit regional and statewide coverage and its audience.

Requirements

• A valid driver’s license, reliable transportation, and minimum liability insurance required by state law.
• Bachelor's or master’s degree in communications, journalism, or related field preferred or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Previous reporting experience preferred; even better if you've covered sports.
• Proficiency on social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
• Experience shooting and editing photos and video on a mobile device.
• Strong communication skills, news judgment, and headline-writing ability.
• Ability to multitask and excel under intense deadline pressure.
• Ability to work collaboratively and efficiently.
• Strong writing, spelling, and grammar skills; familiarity with AP style.
• Ability to work nights and weekends.
• Comfort building a beat and communicating with athletes and coaches.

How to Apply

To apply, submit a single document file that includes:

• Your resume – one to two pages.
• A cover letter that outlines how you would approach the job.
• Links to 3-6 online samples of your work.

Show us what you’ve produced or had a hand in that best reflects what you can do in your desired role. Completing these steps will ensure that your application receives the highest consideration.