News reporter

Noozhawk is looking for a full-time general assignment reporter covering Santa Barbara County on California's Central Coast. The leading source of news in our area, we have a small staff but the drive and impact of a larger organization.

Preference will be given to applicants with at least 1-2 years of professional experience, but we also welcome recent college graduates with the right combination of education and student media/freelance journalism work.

We're looking for candidates with strong reporting, writing and photography skills, the ability to produce stories quickly and on deadline, and will work well independently but be a strong team player. Skills with social media, data reporting and Spanish language will be considered a plus.

Our newsroom is hybrid with some remote work time and some office time, so candidates should be self-directed, well organized, and good communicators.

Job duties include pitching and reporting assignments for local news topics including government, schools, public safety, planning and development, housing, community events, and breaking news.

Noozhawk reporters are often responsible for photography to go along with their stories, so candidates should be comfortable shooting pictures on their phones and/or camera equipment.

We are a daily online local news organization with a team of full-time professional journalists and freelance writers and photographers.

This is a great opportunity for an early-career journalist who wants experience reporting and writing all kinds of stories, and to get feedback from veteran editors and reporters.

We want to find someone as soon as possible in spring or summer 2026. It's a full-time job (40 hours a week) with paid time off available.

The salary range starts at $20 per hour, and depends on experience. This position is based in the North County (Santa Maria, Lompoc, Santa Ynez Valley).Contact editors Tom Bolton (tbolton@noozhawk.com) and Giana Magnoli (gmagnoli@noozhawk.com) to apply: please send a cover letter, a resume, three to five recent journalism work samples (including writing, photography, video), and references.

Learn more about us on our Meet the Team page, and please get in touch if you're interested in the position or have any questions.