Sports Journalism Reporter Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Headquarters
650 3rd Avenue S
Suite 1300
Minneapolis, MN 55488, USA

The Minnesota Star Tribune is an innovative modern media organization building on an extraordinary 159-year legacy. With seven Pulitzer Prizes and numerous other accolades, we stand as a beacon of journalistic excellence in Minnesota. Together, we are the heart and voice of the north.

Our mission is to build a better Minnesota by connecting us with the people, ideas, and stories that strengthen our communities. We’re seeking dynamic leaders who are passionate about journalism and democracy to help shape this future. If you are excited about reinventing one of our state’s most trusted institutions and leading us into a new era of growth and excellence, we want to hear from you.

We are seeking an Audience Editor for Sports at our headquarters in Minneapolis MN to help drive audience growth and engagement for one of the nation\'s most ambitious sports teams in news.

Thisrole will be embedded with the Sports desk andserve asthe leadstrategist for audience development.The Audience Editor willhelpshape coverage plans, storytelling approaches and maximize the reachofour journalism.This rolewill work closely withsports editors and reporterstoidentifyandexecuteopportunitiestoexpand our audienceduring bigmoments, dailycoverageandenterprise storytelling.

he right person for this job is deeply immersed in sports media and fan culture. You follow the Vikings, Timberwolves, Lynx, Twins, Wild and Gophers across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, podcasts, newsletters, search and emerging platforms. You\'re fascinated by why certain stories and personalities break through while others don’t. You know how to reach both the diehard fan and the sports-culture curious.

As part of the centralized Audience Team, this role gives Sports dedicated support while connecting the desk to shared audienceexpertise, broader newsroomstrategyand best practices.This is a highly collaborative role that requires a nimble ability to work across teams.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the lead audience strategist for the Sports desk, partnering with editors and reporters on coverage planning, storypresentationand distribution.
• Use audience data, research, searchtrendsand performance insights to help shape coverage decisions and identify opportunities for growth.
• Help the Sports team better understand priority audiences, including loyal subscribers, casual fans, team-specific audiences, youngerreadersand people discovering our journalism on new platforms.
• Advise onhow Sports stories are framed,timedand presented across StarTribune.com,YouTube,search, newsletters, social media, mobile and other platforms.
• Partner withsocialmediaeditors, newsletterproducersand thehomepage team to strengthen the reach and impact of Sports coverage, especially during breaking news and major sports moments.
• Identifyopportunities to testnew approachesto headlines, story formats, live coverage, video,newslettersand audience engagement, then help the desk apply what works.
• Collaborate with the centralized Audience Team to bring shared tools,expertiseand best practices to Sports while contributing to a culture of experimentation, audienceserviceand journalistic excellence.

Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree in journalism or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and work-related experience.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience in audience development, digital journalism, sports journalism, social media, newsletters, analytics, SEO, product strategy or a related field.
• Strong understanding of audience behavior across digital platforms, including social media, newsletters, search, homepage,mobileand video experiences.
• Ability to analyze performance data and translate it into clear, actionable newsroom insights that inform coverage, framing and distribution strategy.
• Experience developing strategies that drive audience growth, subscribervalueand engagement.
• Strong research skills, including the ability to synthesize multiple data sources into useful audience segments,trendsand recommendations.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with editors,reportersand platform teams.
• Strong news judgment and an understanding of how sports audiences engage with breaking news, live events, analysis, features, personalities, enterprisejournalismand community conversation.
• Knowledge offan behavior, digitalhabitsand the evolving ways audiences discover and build loyalty with sports journalism.
• Experience collaborating across editorial, product, social, newsletter,videoor audience teams.
• Commitment to journalistic excellence, publicserviceand audience-centered decision-making.

Preferred Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in a newsroom, sports media, audience development or platform strategy role, especially with experience using data and research to grow and engage audiences.
• Experience training,coachingand developing journalists in audience growth, SEO,analyticsand digital storytelling best practices.
• Familiarity with analytics tools and audience measurement platforms.
• Experience working on subscription-based or membership-driven media products.
• Familiarity with Minnesota sports audiences, fancommunitiesor major sports coverage rhythms.
• Experience developing audience strategies that reach both loyal users and new or emerging audiences.
• Social media content creation and video editing experienceisa definite plus.

Schedule: Wednesday-Sunday, 1 pm-10 pm. Schedules may need to be adjusted at times to accommodate the needs and coverage plans of the Sports Department.

Equal Opportunity Employer
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