News Producer

WAND TV is the market leading television station in central Illinois and we are looking for a full-time Reporter.

WAND is centrally located in the Springfield-Decatur-Champaign market in Decatur, Illinois, and offers an incredible low cost-of-living, a family atmosphere, superior culture, and industry-leading benefits.

The ideal candidate would be an energetic self-starter with strong storytelling skills and a dynamic personality. This person would take ownership of his/her work as well as bring unique story ideas to the table and recognize the importance of using social media to tell stories, break news, and connect with our community. The candidate must demonstrate they will be effective in storytelling on a variety of platforms.

Decatur is home to Lake Decatur, an outdoor amphitheater, parks, golf courses, quality restaurants, the Scovill Zoo, Children’s Museum of Illinois, a convention center, and several universities. Decatur is a charitable and giving community with friendly and hard-working neighbors. It’s also home to a great arts scene, antiques, and has several sports and recreational spots.

Decatur has its own airport. Chicago is 3 hours to the north and St. Louis is 2 hours to the southwest.

Owned by Block Communications, Inc., a private family-owned company, WAND focuses on our employees, producing high-quality journalism, and serving our viewers on a variety of platforms.

The WAND family supports each other inside and outside the newsroom. WAND is looking for a team player, plus someone who is highly motivated to learn and grow, and is willing to work hard every day to set the bar higher.

Essential Duties:

• Cover stories as assigned, pitch stories in daily editorial meetings
• Cover local stories and events by setting up and conducting interviews
• Write local stories daily based on your coverage and the coverage of others
• Build contacts and sources to provide content and context to stories you are working on
• Posting stories to digital and social media platforms
• Ability to multitask and work on stories while communicating with other newsroom employees
• Ability to provide local coverage through teamwork with other newsroom employees

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Qualifications:

• Strong writing skills
• Ability to build contacts and sources and develop relationships in the local community to provide superior news coverage
• Multi-platform skills to deliver news on-air, to digital platforms, and social media
• Good communicator to deliver information both internally and externally for daily coverage
• Ability to shoot and edit video
• Ability to report events live on camera
• Valid state driver’s license

Education: Bachelor’s degree in journalism or related field required

Experience: 1-2 years prior television news reporting experience, or strong internships or collegiate work

Some added benefits to working for WAND:

• Low-cost health insurance with free dental and vision
• Company paid HSA
• Company paid life insurance
• 6% company match on 401(k) contributions
• Family first values
• Generous time-off policy
• Regular professional development opportunities

The anticipated pay range for this position is $35,000 - $40,000 per year.