Job Details
News Reporter, Santa Barbara News-Press
2026-03-03 NEWSWELL Santa Barbara,CANews Reporter, Santa Barbara News-Press
Report the news that matters
You care about the facts. You're an ambitious and creative journalist who knows how to make calls, knock on doors, interview face-to-face, read documents, and craft a clear, compelling story on deadline.
At the Santa Barbara News-Press, you'll be part of a growing start-up newsroom rebuilding local journalism with urgency, credibility and relevance. You'll cover a wide range of stories across Santa Barbara County contributing original reporting that helps readers understand what's happening - and why it matters.
This is a general assignment role for a journalist who wants to report frequently, improve quickly and take on increasing responsibility over time. You'll pursue enterprise reporting, narrative features and investigations. You will also shoot short-form vertical video for social-first stories.
You'll spend a significant portion of your time out in the community, on the street and in the field, talking to people. This role will enable you to engage with every angle of the local and regional news landscape.
The pay scale for this position ranges from $24.51 - $28.84/hour.
Location: Santa Barbara, CA area
You will be a core member of a growing team working to transform the 157-year-old Santa Barbara News-Press into an innovative digital-first local news outlet. This role exists to provide strong foundational reporting on the most important news of Santa Barbara County and the Central Coast via timely, fact-based storytelling that resonates with our local community. You are here to build the news and information infrastructure for a people and a place.
What you'll do
Report and write
- Develop and report original stories through on-the-ground reporting
- Write clear, accurate, well-structured stories on deadline
- File breaking news quickly while maintaining accuracy and fairness
- Follow stories beyond the news cycle for in-depth 'day two' coverage
- Develop long-form, investigative and explanatory features
- Contribute primarily through written text and photos
- Shoot short-form video for publishing across multiple platforms
- Work with editors and colleagues to adapt reporting for different platforms
- Uphold strong standards of accuracy, sourcing, ethics and fairness
- Attribute information clearly and responsibly
- Exercise good news judgment and editorial discretion
- Work closely with editors, fellow reporters and visual journalists
- Participate in story meetings and contribute ideas
- Be open to feedback and committed to continuous improvement
- A minimum of three years of professional reporting experience (or equivalent)
- Strong writing and reporting skills
- Solid understanding of journalistic ethics and best practices
- Ability to work efficiently in a daily news environment
- Comfort with video or audio reporting
- Familiarity with digital publishing workflows
- Spanish language speaking and writing skills
- Preference for someone living in or near Santa Barbara
- Comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental and vision insurance
- 401(k) plan with matching employer contribution
- 22 days of vacation time
- 11 holidays, including your birthday
- Parental leave
- Significant tuition reductions
- $30 bi-weekly cell phone reimbursement
- A written resume
- Clips or links to recent written reporting (ideally three-five pieces that together showcase your editorial range across different types of articles, ex. daily news, longform, profile, analysis, etc.
- Clips or links to any video or audio news stories you have produced or been a part of producing
- A note on your journalistic background, professional aspirations in this role, interest in covering the greater Santa Barbara community and why the News-Press would be a good fit (max. 1 written page)
Please assemble these materials into a single document and upload them in a PDF format.
NEWSWELL is an Equal Opportunity Employer