Weekend General Assignment Reporter

Location: Portland, Oregon
Job Category: Online | New Media,Radio
Job ID: 11564
Employment Type: Full time
Salary: per hour
Posted: 03.02.2026

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Occupations:

Job Description:

About OPB
OPB is a leader in public media, serving diverse communities of the Northwest with fact-based, in-depth news and information about politics, the environment, science, arts, history, and cultures, business, education and more. Powered by the generous support of members, OPB seeks out a variety of voices in our communities and lifts up authentic stories of the people, places, events and issues of the region, providing context and a deeper understanding. OPB’s independent journalism and programs are available at opb.org, on OPB Radio and OPB TV. Follow us on Bluesky, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.
 
The Opportunity
OPB is seeking a voracious reporter to stay on top of breaking news on the weekends! This reporter will be a self-starter and multitasking expert who will contribute written, audio, and occasionally visual content on breaking news and enterprise stories on the weekends, and serve as a general assignment reporter Wednesday through Friday. The ideal candidate for this role will not only produce exemplary reporting for OPB's website, digital platforms, and radio magazines, but will successfully organize and communicate these stories to weekday colleagues for strong continued coverage early in the week. If you're a reporter who is hungry to cover topics from parades to protests, this might be the beat for you!
 
Position Details
The Weekend General Assignment Reporter covers breaking news and general assignment stories for OPB on a variety of topics and develops strong enterprise off the news as time allows. The bulk of this reporter-producer’s newsgathering efforts will focus on responding to breaking news and creating content for OPB’s weekend audiences. In any given shift, this reporter-producer should expect to produce and file radio actualities, write text stories for a digital audience, and may be tasked with shooting digital video. The person in this role may also be called on to produce interviews for hosts on radio broadcast shows Morning Edition, All Things Considered or Weekend Edition, particularly on news topics that develop on weekends. This position involves daily research, writing, online filing, photography, voicing, and production.
 
Responsibilities 
60% - Reports, writes and produces breaking and enterprise news stories on multiple platforms, including audio and digital and possibly video. Other duties include scheduling and conducting interviews and planning future news coverage related to the weekend beat, recording and editing material using digital audio tools, using social media for information gathering and engagement, and taking photos. This position, along with all reporters, will use OPB’s content and media asset management systems as required for collaboration across the department.
20% - Produce interviews for hosts on radio broadcast shows Morning Edition, All Things Considered or Weekend Edition. This would require finding and lining up guests, writing scripts, and producing digital stories out of the conversations.
10% - Plan for weekend coverage alongside the Weekend Editor in Midweek news meeting. Research and pitch stories that could yield strong weekend dailies in the absence of breaking news. Proactively plan for up to 2 weeks ahead. 
10% - Participate in local news programming by appearing as a guest on shows like Morning Edition, “Think Out Loud®” and All Things Considered and podcasts such as “OPB Politics Now,” doing stand-ups for vertical news video, or being debriefed by an on-air host. Support efforts to include other local voices in OPB’s on-air programming. 
 
Working Conditions

• Work environment: The reporter will divide time between an office/studio and field work as needed for newsgathering, which may include travel to remote locations, reporting on protests in the field, working evenings and weekends, and possibly working in inclement weather. Members of the OPB news team are expected to work in the office several days a week.  
• Schedule: The work schedule for this full-time role is Wednesday through Sunday. Evenings may be required.
• Physical demands: Lifting and carrying equipment up to 10 pounds is sometimes required. 
• Travel: Travel within Oregon and Southwest Washington is common.
• Driving: Valid Oregon or Washington driver's license is required.

 
Required Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Communications or related field or the equivalent combination of education, training and experience that provides the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities for this position.
• 3 years equivalent full-time professional experience as a journalist.

 
Preferred Education & Experience

• Bachelors degree in Journalism.

 
Minimum Position Requirements (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Attitudes):

• Experience developing and maintaining a beat and sources
• Experience covering breaking news
• Strong writing and interviewing skills
• Strong organizational and time management skills
• Familiarity with photography, audio, video and social media in the presentation of news stories
• Commitment to high ethical standards in reporting
• Ability to file live reports and participate in breaking news
• Some radio production experience
• Enthusiasm for the mission of OPB
• Enthusiasm for the changing news production environment and the tools and software used to facilitate our work

 
Preferred Position Requirements (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Attitudes):

• Experience using digital audio recording and editing equipment
• Community engagement experience
• Experience in multimedia journalism, including digital news video
• Bilingual in English and another language, preferably one spoken in communities in the Pacific Northwest (for example, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Russian).  
• An eye for diverse voices and sources in stories
• Photography or video production skills

 
Additional Information

• This position will report to the Weekend Editor.
• This role is full time, benefits eligible, and represented by SAG-AFTRA.
• The probable hiring range for this non-exempt role will be $34.14-$37.50/hour.
• This position requires a valid driver's license and will requires consent to OPB conducting a driving record check. Employees will not be allowed to use a company or personal vehicle for work purposes without completion and satisfactory results of this check.

 
Application Instructions:
Note: Applications are only accepted when submitted at OPB's job board, located at OPB.org/careers. If you are viewing this post from any other site and wish to apply, please exit and navigate to OPB.org/careers.
A cover letter is required for this role.

• Go to OPB’s Job Board, located at OPB.org/careers.
• Click the Weekend General Assignment Reporter job posting.
• Click “Apply” at the bottom of the screen.
• You will be asked to create an account, upload your cover letter and resume, and answer a few required position-related questions.
• Once you click “submit” you cannot make changes to your application. 
• If you have any trouble uploading a cover letter, please reach out to hr@opb.org.

Your application materials are due by 8:59 PM Pacific Time on Friday, March 27th 2026.
OPB is an Equal Opportunity Employer. 

Job Requirements: