Crime and court reporter

Newsquest Buckinghamshire and Berkshire has a rare vacancy for one of the best jobs in news on one of the UK’s best patches.

We are currently on the lookout for an exceptional journalist to take on the highly-coveted position of court and crime reporter.

Key responsibilities

The position is for a senior, primarily covering court and crime but supporting the wider news team as well. The vacancy is based in Reading but some travel will be required to courts in Buckinghamshire.

You will thrive under pressure, live and breathe news and aim to get your name on the front page and at the top of the homepage day in, and day-out.

Your stories will lead the news agenda locally and regularly make national headlines.

This role presents an exciting opportunity for a digitally savvy journalist.

We want much more than someone who sits in court – we are looking for a challenger of reporting restrictions and producer of exclusive investigations, backgrounders, and well-crafted news pieces around the big crime issues of the day, alongside the very best of what is happening in our courtrooms.

Our nationwide network of court and crime reporters are some of the best-performing journalists in the Newsquest group. This is your chance to join that top tier.

The right candidate will be delivering the sort of fast, agile, and dynamic coverage that our readers expect and deserve. 

You will be passionate about digital storytelling, with a desire to come up with new and innovative ways of telling those stories using a vast array of different skills, tools, and platforms. 

We work on a rota basis with some early and late shifts as well as some weekend work.

Applicants must be fully NCTJ qualified – including 100wpm shorthand – and have experience covering the criminal courts.

Candidates must also hold a full, clean UK driving licence.

Skills, knowledge and expertise

• Excellent knowledge of relevant media law 
• A versatile, fresh and energetic writing style 
• Exceptional attention to detail 
• The ability to write – and think – quickly under pressure 
• An adaptable style to produce everything from live blogs and listicles to long reads and features 
• Skills with shooting and editing video as well as online tools and apps for producing images and audio 
• Bags of ideas for how stories can be presented in the best possible way for our audiences 
• Knowledge of SEO and its importance to digital journalism 
• Excellent social media skills and the ability to spot stories and trending topics 
• Great people skills and the ability to get on with a wide range of people in the community 
• A high level of organisation and the ability to manage your diary 
• Collaborative skills to pool ideas with the wider digital reporting team and take on board suggestion

About Newsquest Media Group

We are a media company with a difference. We are committed to bringing a voice to your region by investing in a passionate team of journalists who proudly serve their communities by sharing authoritative news that readers trust. Our sales teams provide local businesses with highly responsive digital advertising and marketing solutions.

We are one of the largest regional news publishers in the UK and have a portfolio of more than 250+ local news brands and magazines online and in print. With an online audience of 41 million users a month and 7 million readers a week in print, our content is read by a substantial proportion of the UK population.

In addition to our local news brands, we own a number of digital pure play and specialist media businesses such as s1jobs and s1homes, Exchange & Mart, and Newsquest Specialist Media. We also own LOCALiQ, an award-winning digital marketing agency that specialises in driving more leads, increasing online growth and generating return on marketing investment on behalf of thousands of UK SMBs.