Business Reporter
The Appleton Post Crescent is seeking an audience-focused business reporter to join our award-winning team. This position offers a unique opportunity to cover the overall business landscape and economy of Wisconsin, with a special focus on the state's paper industry and the wrenching challenges it faces that are putting the future of workers and towns built around the industry at risk.
We're looking for a reporter who is familiar with business coverage and has a track record of producing a range of stories - from daily breaking news and short explanatory pieces to deeper enterprise work that centers community voices. In short, no story is too big or too small.
This beat is built around the Fox Cities: Appleton and more than a dozen other adjacent communities shaped by the Fox River Valley, legacy businesses that anchored development therein and the new growth and ideas popping up in the region. Forbes Magazine rated Appleton as one of Wisconsin's best cities for business, Grand Chute's shopping district routinely attracts customers from across the region. New developments regularly dot the landscape.
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We are seeking a reporter who can develop a wide network of sources, think creatively about what constitutes a story and then identify the best way to present it, all with a focus on growing our audience. A reporter in this role may find themselves writing about the 175th anniversary of a legacy company one day and exploring the fluctuations of the housing market the next, then shifting focus to a deep dive piece on youth labor. Along with general business coverage, they will continue building our coverage of Wisconsin's paper industry.
Wisconsin has long been America's top producer of paper and paper products - everything from recycled paper to coated pages for magazines to disposable diapers was invented here. Today the industry still generates billions a year in economic output and employs thousands, but consolidations and new competition from China and elsewhere present great challenges for the mills and towns where they have long been the leading employers.
A portion of this beat will be covering the industry itself - including powerhouses such as Kimberly-Clark, Procter & Gamble and Georgia Pacific. But we want to go beyond earnings reports, corporate mergers and staffing decisions and take a thoughtful view of how the industry affects the region, from logging and land use, to job losses and retraining programs, to efforts to innovate and sustain the industry in Wisconsin or boost redevelopment in communities where mills have shuttered.
This reporter will be part of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin's business team, which includes reporters and editors from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Green Bay Press-Gazette and Appleton Post-Crescent. You can expect to work closely with network reporters on regional coverage of economic development and job training.
Responsibilities:
- Contribute to urgent coverage of business and economic news.
- Serve communities by helping readers find answers and solutions.
- Provide thoughtful analysis of complex issues.
- Work with editors to evaluate what's working and what's not and develop ongoing plans to better satisfy audience needs.
- Collaborate with other teams to provide all the appropriate elements for stories (i.e. photos, videos and graphics).
Requirements:
- Bachelor's degree in Journalism, Communications, Business, or a related field.
- Experience in business reporting, with a proven track record of breaking significant stories and producing impactful journalism.
- Exceptional writing and storytelling abilities.
- Proficiency in digital journalism tools and platforms.
- Ability to work under tight deadlines and handle multiple assignments simultaneously.
- Background using social media such as X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to find sources and stories, and promote work.
- Understanding of reporting ethics.
- This role requires a valid driver's license, reliable transportation, and the minimum liability insurance required by state law.
Application Instructions
We are eager to learn more about you and how you fit this role. When you apply, don't limit your upload to a resume; show us what you've done. To do so, put together a single document file that includes the following, in this order:
- 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.
It is important that these items be assembled into a single document and uploaded in PDF format.
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