Arts, Culture & Events Reporter

City Beat is looking for a curious, plugged-in, energetic Arts, Culture & Events Reporter to own our coverage of what Cincinnati is watching, listening to, experiencing and arguing about.

This is the beat for someone who wants to be genuinely embedded in Cincinnati’s creative community — visual arts, theater, live music, film, nightlife, festivals, museums, cultural institutions, local personalities, and the people shaping the character of our neighborhoods.

You should know what’s happening before everyone else does, or know exactly who to call to find out.

The job is to break arts and culture news, develop original stories, build real sources across the region, and make City Beat the first place people go when they’re asking the question that drives our audience:
What should I do in Cincinnati?

This position reports to the Community Editor and works closely with City Beat’s reporters, contributors and videographer.

Report and write

• Roughly five reported bylines a week, generally with multiple interviews and sources
• Around two short news briefs a day — announcements, openings and closings, artist and venue news, event developments, and other timely items from the beat
• City Beat’s weekly Things to Do in Cincinnati This Weekend guide
• At least one additional listicle a week on things to see, do or experience around the region

Own the beat

• Take charge of City Beat’s broader Things to Do in Cincinnati coverage — identifying new guide ideas, seasonal opportunities, and evergreen topics that deserve coverage or an update
• Break news about Cincinnati’s arts and cultural community: venue openings and closures, leadership changes, cancellations, major announcements, controversies, and everything else that moves
• Develop and maintain sources across the arts, entertainment and cultural communities
• Cover visual arts, theater, music, film, nightlife, festivals, museums, cultural institutions, local personalities and neighborhood culture

Show up

• Attend concerts, performances, gallery openings, festivals and press events throughout the region when the coverage calls for it. This beat happens at night and on weekends, and it happens in person.

• Experience reporting on arts, culture, entertainment, lifestyle or community topics — professional, freelance or collegiate
• Strong writing, interviewing and storytelling skills, particularly the ability to capture scene, voice and atmosphere
• Familiarity with Cincinnati’s creative community, or a deep curiosity to dive in fast
• The ability to balance quick-turn daily work with longer-form enterprise reporting
• Comfort working across platforms — digital, social and print
• Strong collaboration, communication and deadline management
• Flexibility for event-based coverage outside regular business hours
• Sound news judgment and the ability to produce fast, thorough, accurate reporting with minimal supervision
• Reliable transportation

• Full benefits package — medical, dental, vision and life
• PTO and paid holidays
• All the equipment you need to do your job
• Editorial support and a newsroom that will help you get better
• A real beat with real ownership — this is your territory, not a rotation
• A giant newsroom full of tiny desks in beautiful downtown Covington, KY

You’ll Need to Share Our Mission and Uphold Our Guiding Principles

Mission: LINK Media (City Beat’s parent company) strengthens vibrant communities through independent, sustainable local journalism.

Guiding Principles:

We are:

Solutions-Focused:
We don’t just report the news of the day. We dig deeper, informing our audience about how our community might solve its biggest issues.

Unapologetic Community Fans:
We believe in this community—in what it is today, and what it has the potential to become. We want to see this community advance, and we understand the part that we play in that advancement.

Inclusive:
We explore the issues that affect all of our readers, and give a voice to all segments of our diverse community.

Good Stewards:
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