Job Title: News Writer

Location: Ft. Worth, TX

Job Type: Part-Time, Hourly

Department: Communications

Reports To: Director of News and Information

Date: 12/10/2024 Last Revision

Standard of Christian Commitment

The candidate must be a professing Christ follower who possesses a strong commitment to the mission and core values of Southwestern Seminary and Texas Baptist College, possess a clear understanding of Southern Baptist heritage and culture, and agrees to serve in accordance with and not contrary to the current edition of the Baptist Faith and Message.

Southwestern Seminary, an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention, is a confessional institution. While the Seminary serves the larger evangelical Christian community, employees must embrace the values and standards the Seminary represents as it fulfills its mission of shaping Christian leaders within our denominational context.

Since duties of this position require the employee to represent the Seminary to prospective and current students, candidates must abide by the Seminary bylaws, the Employee Handbook, and the current edition of the Baptist Faith and Message as a condition of employment.

Job Description

Job Summary

News writers work in the Office of Communications along with a team of photographers, graphic designers, videographers, and web designers to help tell the Southwestern Seminary story. They write stories for seminary publications and the seminary website. Additionally, they write and proofread copy for use in advertising, marketing, and website use.

Key Responsibilities

• Cover on-campus and off-campus news stories for the seminary.

• Interview subjects for news stories.

• Write feature stories and other supplemental content for?the Southwestern News?magazine.

• Proofread/edit copy.

• Generate story ideas.

• Perform other related duties as assigned and specific to area of responsibility.

Specific Skills and Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, journalism, or English preferred.

• News writing experience of at least two years. Writing samples required.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

• Ability to work well with a team.

• Ability to write journalistically sound news stories.

• Interviewing skills.

• Proficiency with proofreading/editing.

• Knowledge of Associated Press and Chicago Manual styles and how they differ preferred.

• Ability to research a given topic for infographics, background on story coverage, etc.

• Must be comfortable working with Microsoft Office software.

• Must be able to work in Mac or PC environments.

• Experience with Adobe InDesign and/or InCopy preferred.

• Ability to work on a deadline.

• Possess a strong work ethic and initiative.

• Ability to multi-task, pay attention to detail, and be a team player.

• Exhibit exemplary social skills and ensure considerate interactions with colleagues and public.

• Exhibit a humble, patient, and collaborative spirit in order to create a healthy and vibrant work culture for the staff team.

Work Environment / Physical Requirements

• Office Environment - May be required to reach above shoulder level for organizational tasks (e.g., retrieving files from upper shelves), bend, stoop, or reach to access lower or upper shelves.

• Ability to sit and stand for extended periods of time and move about to the office to interact with other staff members.

• Ability to use a computer and near-visual acuity in reading written documents and statistical data.

• Exchanges information by telephone, computer, in writing and in person.

• Ability to traverse campus for meetings and talk to groups while doing so.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary will reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with a disability so they may perform the essential functions of a job unless doing so causes a direct threat to these individuals or others in the workplace and the threat cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation or if the accommodation creates an undue hardship to the institution. Contact human resources (HR) with any questions or requests for accommodation.

About Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, established in 1908 under the visionary leadership of B.H. Carroll, was born out of the urgent need for trained ministers in America’s rapidly growing Southwest. Initially part of Baylor University, the seminary became an independent institution in Waco before relocating to Fort Worth in 1910. Carroll’s unwavering commitment to orthodoxy, gospel-centered education, and the Great Commission shaped the seminary’s mission. Training God-called men and women for ministry, Southwestern has an expansive academic program training pastors, missionaries, and ministry leaders in theology, missions, evangelism, music and worship, and education. Today, it stands as a beacon of faithfulness, equipping generations to serve Christ’s church globally.