Food Journalist

The Baltimore Sun seeks a versatile and voracious Food Journalist who enjoys being fully immersed in local restaurants, food, farms and beverage. You’re the first to sample a new dish or drop into the latest TikTok hot spot. Not only that but you understand that food is a business as much as it is a pleasure, understanding its role in the local economy and seeking out the players who keep the menus spinning and the drinks flowing. More importantly, you are an expert at navigating government, from the health department to the liquor board, eager to tackle the data behind the latest culinary trends. The food reporter will be responsible for covering food as news and the news as food.

Essential Functions

• Strive to provide readers with what we know, when we know it. Be transparent about sources of information.
• Develop stories, produce or secure visuals, get sources to cooperate, corroborate facts, and present information to readers in the most relevant, interesting way.
• Participating in videos and live streaming for the site and social media
• Maximizing audience engagement through the use of various storytelling formats, including photo galleries, video, aggregation, and a variety of layouts.
• Taking the initiative to fact-check, run background checks, and confirm information before publication.
• Delivering on time with minimal to moderate supervision and editing.
• Cultivating beats, where appropriate, and sources.
• Uncovering and proposing exclusive stories on newsworthy events and trends.
• Contributing story ideas several times a week, including identifying and following trends outside assigned beat or topic areas, and informing supervisors of possible story ideas arising from trends.
• Measuring the performance of one’s own digital content through audience engagement metrics and working with the audience team to develop tactics and strategies to build an audience.
• Working with data and visuals teams, as appropriate, to deepen reporting and produce data-visualization content items.

Education and Experience Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience required
• A minimum of 3 years of professional reporting experience (news publication and/or daily or weekly journalism experience strongly preferred)
• Must be able and willing to work irregular hours and holidays as necessary
• Valid driver's license and reliable transportation required
• Must be familiar with computers and software, including Internet software
• Excellent command of verbal and written English

Salary Range: $50,000 - $70,000

Individual compensation may vary from the target range based on several factors such as experience, internal pay equity, and other relevant business considerations.

Application Submission

Please include a cover letter and résumé. In your cover letter, please highlight three different types of stories you have worked on along with a brief description of your roles.

Please upload samples of your previous reporting/editing work, such as news articles, feature stories, or investigative reports, that demonstrate your ability to cover/edit stories clearly, accurately, and with compelling detail.

The Baltimore Sun is committed to building a diverse newsroom that reflects the people it covers and the audience it serves. Candidates are encouraged to highlight new perspectives they can bring to our team.