Multimedia Correspondent

Multimedia Correspondent
Location: Santa Cruz, California

Lookout is looking for a Multimedia Correspondent who is passionate about digital journalism, using their skills and experience to help take Lookout’s presentation beyond just words and static images.

We seek journalists who are enthused about being part of a new model of community-centric, mobile-first, topically knowledgeable, intensely local journalism in Santa Cruz County. Lookout’s journalists are the prominent public face of Lookout in all the diverse communities we serve.

The multimedia correspondent will help illustrate, design and explain stories both straightforward and complex, utilizing the full power of the digital medium. We require a strong and versatile photographic ability. As Lookout approaches our second year, we now move to incorporate all story forms – using audio, video, maps, data, animations and interactives to bring our work fully to life.

Lookout firmly believes that only certain stories require the traditional narrative “story” treatment, especially in the digital era. The vast majority of stories are more consumable — particularly on mobile, where Lookout derives 70% of its traffic — in other forms such as:

Explainers: Here’s what you need to know about X and why.
Q&As: This person’s voice is important enough that it stands on its own.
Lookout Update: Briefs that help bring the public into the most important and relevant takeaways from developing news
Infographic-driven stories: Building a narrative surrounding the major data points that stand out.
Ask Lookout: People are buzzing about something; we ferret out some truth for them.

We seek a multimedia correspondent who brings a creative approach to packaging stories. That means pulling together the right photos, any possible datasets via Infogram and other visualization tools, and - when appropriate - video, audio and graphics that make those story packages unique and impactful.

While this is a visuals-focused position on the newsroom team, the ideal candidate will have strong news writing skills similar to – or exceeding – those of successful multimedia journalists in television newsrooms.

The successful candidate will be both organized and adaptable, working with other correspondents and editors to create visuals that make our website, newsletters and social channels shine. We are also looking for someone who doesn’t wait for assignments, but creates work and comes up with ideas — from data visualizations to photo essay concepts to potential animations — on their own initiative.

If this sounds like you, send a resume and cover letter to jobs@lookoutlocal.com that addresses the following:

Your news visuals philosophy.
Your experience in photography, photo editing, digital design and production of multimedia journalism.
Your knowledge of the Santa Cruz area or, if you’re not local, how you would educate yourself.

Experience & skills:

Rock-solid journalism judgment, intuition and taste.
A minimum of two years of professional (post-collegiate) experience.
Experience and comfort with the pace of digital-first journalism, and the digital technologies that power it.
Ability to engage diverse local communities in Lookout’s work.
Demonstrated adaptability, especially with new topical coverage areas and communities.
Comfort learning new technology and experience producing and editing multimedia stories in content management systems.
Comfort with the format of Lookout’s correspondent-focused model, and the personality it brings to the work.
Desire to work in an entrepreneurial, fast-growth startup environment, embracing the agility and flexibility required to thrive within a new business.
Bilingual abilities are a plus.
Data reporting skills are a plus.
Audio/video experience in the field is a plus.
Graphic design/animation experience is a plus.
Knowledge of Adobe Creative Cloud, Infogram, Canva, Datawrapper and similar software is a plus.

Benefits and Application

The Multimedia Correspondent is a full-time Lookout Local employee, and the position is located in downtown Santa Cruz. We offer competitive employee benefits. Lookout Local is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.

As we interact with the public on a regular basis, a vaccination against COVID-19 is required for employment absent documented disability or religious reasons.