Freelance Breaking News Writer

Atlanta Black Star has several immediate openings for Freelance Breaking News Writers. The ideal candidate will have a pulse on the major issues impacting the community, with a focus on criminal justice, social justice and human interest stories. The ideal candidate will possess a natural curiosity and a burning desire to fill in gaps to tell highly engaging and compelling stories.

• Pitch, formulate, create and test new content ideas
• Must be able to produce clean, thoroughly researched publish-ready copy with minimum supervision
• Coordinates with editors to develop stories that go beyond surface details, that accentuate unique enterprise angles, and have exclusive content
• Conduct interviews in person, by phone or via email
• Can juggle multiple stories and projects at once, demonstrates exceptional time-management skills by meeting all deadlines under extraordinary pressure
• Follow story from start to finish, expected to take ownership of stories
• Zealously develops a network of sources who provide tips, early access to information, and allow the reporter to break stories of significance
• Report breaking news, write quickly and precisely
• Scour national and international media for stories that resonate with ABS's audience
• Regularly plans, gathers, and pitches day-to-day stories or special project assignments
• Pay attention to content performance and digital trends on a daily basis to constantly adjust pitching strategy
• Utilize CMS tools, strategically select photos and videos to optimize all written content for maximum engagement, reader retention, and shareability