Staff Writer – Pageant Media – Greater London

Pageant Media has an excellent opportunity for a first jobber to get involved in all aspects of working on annual supplements for weekly and monthly magazines, plus features and news writing for the magazines themselves.

Short-listed candidates will have a post-graduate certificate in journalism and an excellent grasp of grammar. Proven writing skills and good time management are essential for this job.

Please apply by sending a CV and covering letter, detailing any relevant experience. Please note that this is an entry-level position, working mainly on sponsored editorial, although previous candidates have quickly advanced to other Pageant titles.

Main duties:

Follow up on leads from sales managers in order to commission copy and/or arrange interviews.
Liaise with sales and production teams on schedules for reports and magazine articles.
Research topics and submit question lists for roundtable discussions (to be published in the magazine) and report features.
Interview roundtable participants and contributors to reports.
Transcribe interviews and, where necessary, turn into article copy (to be approved by the contributors).
Chase commissioned copy, pictures, biographical details, advert copy and approvals for ghost-written features.
Proofread and edit commissioned copy and return to contributors for final approval.
Lay out flatplan to agreed specification with sales manager/associate publisher and submit approved copy and other materials to subeditors.
Proofread and mark up corrections on printed layout of articles, supplied by production team.
Agree on headings, contents tables and cover art for reports. Write intro copy if needed.
Additional duties:
Assist on magazines where necessary. This may range from compiling data for annual awards/updates to writing bylined news/features as required. Some face-to-face interviewing may
be necessary, but most will be done over the phone.

The staff writer role requires the following:

Sound editorial skills
Good writing skills; from 200-word news stories to 1200 word features you will need a firm grasp of how to structure articles. Marketing contacts at major banks can be particularly demanding when it comes to approving advertorial copy!
Good organisational skills in juggling competing schedules
Confidence in interviewing leading industry figures and specialists in financial matters
Ability to quickly get to grips with complex financial concepts and language
Ability to produce topic/question lists and conduct interviews at short notice. You will also need, on occasion, to turn out 1200-word features quickly
Persistence and diplomacy in chasing copy/approvals

How to apply

To apply for this role, please email your CV and covering letter to c.honerjager@pageantmedia.com

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