Sports Copy Editor Jobs in Missouri (NOW HIRING)

Who We Are (And Why You’ll Love Working Here)

Forget the rigid corporate newsrooms where you’re just a cog in a machine. We build news teams that operate like a family you’d actually choose to hang out with. We respect your autonomy, support your creative drive, and actively invest in your career growth.

If you live and breathe local high school athletics, love breaking news digitally, and want a clear, mentored runway into an Editor/Management role, this is your dream beat.

The Beat: What Makes This Role Exciting

You will be the voice of high school sports across our region. You won’t just report scores—you’ll tell the deep, human stories behind the athletes, coaches, rivalry games, and championship runs.

From Friday night lights to Monday print deadlines, you’ll have total creative ownership of your beat. You’ll deliver real-time digital buzz when news breaks, then craft rich, compelling weekly sports sections for our print readers.

What We Offer

• Leadership Growth: A structured path to move into a Sports Editor/Management position.
• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO): Time to recharge and keep your creative tank full.
• Workplace Culture: A warm, flexible, supportive team atmosphere that values trust and work-life harmony over micro-management.
• Creative Freedom: The ability to pitch story ideas, launch sports features, and run your beat your way.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Own the Prep Sports Scene: Deliver comprehensive, unbiased coverage of local high school teams, tournament runs, recruiting news, and community sports.
• Master Multi-Platform Storytelling:
• • Digital First: Drop breaking scores, game updates, and digital coverage as action happens.
  • Print Excellence: File weekly print stories and organize layout/pagination every Monday.
• Design & Paginate: Bring your stories to life visually by laying out sports pages and utilizing clean graphic design principles.
• Community Connection: Build genuine relationships with coaches, athletic directors, players, and local sports leaders.
• Step Into Leadership: Learn the editor's desk from day one. You’ll collaborate on coverage strategy, edit copy, and prepare to transition into a Sports Editor / Management role as you grow with us.

What We’re Looking For

• Experience: Minimum 2 years of professional reporting experience (sports beat preferred).
• Education: Degree in Journalism, Communications, or equivalent hands-on experience.
• Technical Skills:
• • Proficiency with page design/pagination software (InDesign) and basic graphic design principles.
  • Strong copy-editing, proofreading, and AP Style accuracy.
  • Familiarity with social media management and digital news posting.
  • Video filming and lightweight editing skills are a strong plus!
• Journalistic Integrity: Absolute commitment to objective, non-biased reporting and high ethical standards.
• Flexibility: Game schedules vary, so flexibility with evenings and weekend game coverage is required.

Ready to Lead Our Sports Coverage?

If you have a passion for high school sports, a sharp eye for page layout, and the ambition to lead a newsroom, we want to meet you!

The Tribune and Times is a 10-year-old company working to serve and inform our communities in Cass and Bates Counties. We are locally owned and operated with a mission of contributing to the community, not seeing how much money we can make for some out-of-town owners. This is a professional organization with experienced staff working with a passion for our product and people.