Live news reporter

The South Wales Argus is looking for a live news reporter to join our busy newsroom at the heart of Newport.

This role is suited to a reporter who is always looking for a breaking story and reacts quickly.

This role involves mostly working the early shift, a 7am start in the office. You are the person making sure we are covering the news, traffic and events as our readers are waking up and travelling to work and keeping them informed with the information they need.

Key responsibilities

A driving licence is essential as you need to get out to breaking news to across your patch. You will be required to have access to a car for work use when you start.

You will be part of a newsroom that produces the daily South Wales Argus, which was recently named Wales Daily Newspaper of the Year, and weekly titles the Free Press Series, Penarth Times and Barry & District News.

There will be weekend work on a rota basis, roughly one in four weekends.

Our reporters are expected to achieve page view goals and passing your probationary period will depend on you meeting them.

Skills, knowledge and expertise

You should be good at context-switching. You might be running three live blogs at once, while also working on original stories in the background.

You need to be organised, and able to monitor various sources for news – email, social media, news wires, competitor sites and more,

You need to be able to prioritise and make quick decisions.

The early start means you finish at 3pm so this role may suit someone who wants more free time outside of the normal nine to five. You will often be the first person in the office, so should be comfortable operating as a keyholder in the business.  

You must hold a full clean driving licence and ideally have access to a vehicle.  

We will show you how to develop and present your stories to make them a must-read and give you the on-the-job training and support needed to help you become a first-class senior reporter on top titles, working for one of the UK’s biggest news publishers.

You will also cover breaking news shifts and the ability to switch between tasks and juggle priorities, meet deadlines and manage your workload is important.

Ideally, you will be NCTJ qualified but you need to be sufficiently trained to write fast, clean copy and handle pressure as you’ll be self-publishing at times. There is no time to settle in over a few months in this role, you need to be ready to go.

The South Wales Argus is the daily newspaper for Newport and the surrounding area, which has developed into a strong digital brand.

We are an inclusive workplace and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. Candidates from a minority ethnic background who hold their NCTJ diploma including shorthand will be guaranteed an interview so long as the post is still open when their application arrives.

As part of Newsquest, you will join one of the biggest publishing companies in the UK during a period of major transformation, in both print and online. There is plenty of opportunity to develop your career across our titles, in Newport and beyond.

You will be part of a hardworking, welcoming and supportive team. We have a bright city centre office, boasting a free coffee machine. Employees get an extra day’s holiday for their birthday (after passing probation), volunteering day, pension and other workplace benefits and discounts, plus a bonus incentive for reporters who achieve audience targets.

If this sounds like the job for you, please apply with your CV, and cover letter. Selected candidates will be invited for technical interview day in Newport where you will be asked to complete various tasks, so please only apply if you can fulfil that requirement. We will recruit when we find the right candidate so do not wait for the closing date.