Business and Growth Beat Reporter

Location: Norfolk, Virginia
Job Category: Online | New Media
Job ID: 72439
Employment Type: Full time
Salary: per year
Posted: 05.16.2025

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Occupations:

Job Description:

Job Summary:
 
WHRO Public Media is looking for a Business & Growth Reporter to join our dynamic newsroom in Hampton Roads. This is not your typical business beat. We're seeking a journalist who can connect the dots between economics and everyday life—someone who sees business news not as numbers and stock quotes, but as stories of people, place and progress.
 
The Business & Growth Reporter will cover how the region’s economy shapes the way people live, work, move and grow. This includes exploring Hampton Roads’ evolving industries, housing trends, transportation systems, local entrepreneurship and the ripple effects of major business developments. You'll tell human-centered stories that make the abstract tangible, like what can make our transportation systems better? What’s impacting the region’s neighborhoods and housing? And in a general sense that this reporter will clearly define through their reporting, how does the economy, innovation and technology impact topics like housing, transportation, workforce trends, development and economic development?
 
In this position, you’ll be expected to research, pitch, report and produce impactful local journalism for publication on WHRO Public Media’s broadcast and digital platforms. You’ll file daily and long-form stories for multiple platforms, contextualizing and humanizing your reporting with a focus on equity and representation across all communities in the region.
 
As part of WHRO Public Media’s collaborative newsroom, you’ll work closely with editors, hosts and fellow reporters to align editorial priorities, contribute to enterprise projects and investigations and uphold our values of accuracy, independence and fairness. You’ll also engage with the Hampton Roads community to build trust, source stories and ensure your work reflects the real lives and concerns of the people who live here.
 
                                                                                                                                                                                               All beat reporters will be expected to produce several daily stories a week and regular enterprise stories. They may also collaborate with WHRO’s Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO to bring Hampton Roads story to a larger statewide audience with more reporting and sources.
 
Duties/Responsibilities:

• File regular daily and long-form news which includes digital and broadcast components
• Engage with the Hampton Roads community to build sources and trust within your assigned beat to ensure a full accounting of the stories
• Maintain detailed knowledge of assigned beat at a local, state and national level to find enterprise story topics and break local news within the beat
• Research large quantities of information on one topic and distill it into meaningful, understandable takeaways
• Work closely with an editor, hosts and other colleagues to determine editorial priorities, share ideas and provide accurate, timely engaging health news to WHRO’s audience
• Contextualize and humanize reporting by seeking out a diverse range of local people to center business and growth stories
• Participate in station events as appropriate.
• Ensure all reporting meets the WHRO expectations of accuracy, independence and fairness.
• Have an interest in and talent for engaging with diverse communities
• Lead occasional training and/or listening sessions for the newsroom
• Available to work varied shifts as required by the news cycle
• Pitch big projects, series and investigations
• Other duties as assigned.

Job Requirements:

Required Skills/Abilities:

• Demonstrated written and/or verbal communication skills

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree or 4 years equivalent experience 

Preferred Experience:

• Minimum 4 years of demonstrated experience in professional journalism
• Experience in newsroom, preferably local or regional
• Experience in audio field reporting and production

Additional Preferred Skills:

• Visual journalism including still photography and videography
• Knowledge of Adobe Audition audio editing software
• Fluency in more than one language
• Data visualization skills
• Knowledge of the Hampton Roads, VA region 

Physical Activities

• Remaining in a stationary position, often standing or sitting for prolonged periods.
• Moving about to accomplish tasks or moving from one worksite to another.
• Communicating with others to exchange information.
• Repeating motions that may include the wrists, hands and/or fingers.
• Operating motor vehicles.
• Assessing the accuracy, neatness and thoroughness of the work assigned.

Environmental Conditions

• Low temperatures.
• High temperatures.
• Outdoor elements such as precipitation and wind.
• Noisy environments.
• Hazardous conditions.

Physical Demands

• Sedentary work that primarily involves sitting/standing.

Disclaimer:
The above information on this description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification.  It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job. The employer reserves the right to change or modify the job description as business needs dictate.