News Writer/Editor & Video Journalist - #2178664

Contract Type: Freelance (5 Days/Week)

Rate: £80 per day

Reports To: Managing Editor & Director

DESIblitz is an award-winning British Asian digital magazine and media network delivering news, lifestyle, entertainment, culture, and investigative features to millions of readers globally. As we expand our digital footprint, vertical video pipelines, and high-velocity newsroom operations, we are seeking a dynamic, multi-talented News Desk Editor & Video Journalist to lead our news pipeline and drive our daily written and visual output.

This is a comprehensive, 5-day role for a versatile media professional who thrives across multiple content formats. Your prime responsibility is managing and delivering our 7-day news coverage.

You will have the autonomy and organisational freedom to structure your week to maintain a continuous, 7-day news presence while balancing high-velocity written news, deep-dive feature writing, and video-based reporting.

We are looking for a sharp and proactive news journalist who can efficiently organise their workload, schedule automated coverage, turn breaking stories into quick news drops, craft engaging long-form features, and step in front of (or behind) the camera to produce platform-native video reports.

Full training will be provided to onboard you onto our newsroom standards, feature production benchmarks, and proprietary AI workflows.

• Core Priority: 7-Day News Output Management: Take full operational ownership of ensuring DESIblitz maintains an uninterrupted 7-day news feed, using smart scheduling, pre-planned coverage, and AI tools to guarantee seamless weekend and evening news delivery.
• Daily Story Quota: Curate, write, edit, and publish a target quota of 10 concise stories per day (380–500 words per story), maintaining a balanced split of:
• 5 Local UK/Regional Stories: Focusing on British South Asian community news, local affairs, culture, and UK court/crime/human interest drops.
• 5 National & Global Stories: Covering South Asian world news, international entertainment, global sports, and trending social topics.
• Multi-Format Output (Written & Video): Produce a seamless mix of written news drops and platform-native short-form video packages (TikTok / Instagram Reels / YouTube Shorts / WhatsApp video clips) based on daily story priorities.
• Feature Article Production: Research, write, and publish engaging Feature articles across key categories (such as Sport, Trends, or news-led features) as part of your overall weekly editorial output.
• Video-Based Reporting & Presenting: Script, film, and edit vertical video packages, and conduct on-location interviews or vox pops across the UK to visually support key news and feature stories.
• Autonomous Workload Management: Exercise top-tier organisational ability to balance you output, allocating time dynamically between maintaining the 7-day news pipeline, hitting your 10-story daily target, deep-dive feature research, and video shooting/editing.
• AI-Supported Workflows: Leverage AI editing tools (ChatGPT, Gemini, custom prompts, and automated dashboards) to maintain rapid drafting turnarounds without sacrificing accuracy or tone.
• CMS & Operational Support: Guide and support incoming Features Editors on WordPress CMS standards, SEO best practices, image formatting, and direct 'Publish' workflows.
• Cross-Channel Distribution: Collaborate directly with the Social Media Lead to convert written and video news drops into social hooks, audio snippets, and broadcast messages for WhatsApp and newsletters.

• Experience: 3+ years of experience in digital news journalism, newsroom sub-editing, and/or video reporting for an online publisher or media outlet.
• Core News Management Skills: Proven track record of managing a continuous digital news desk and building scheduled content pipelines to cover a 7-day editorial cycle.
• Multi-Format Versatility: Proven capability across fast-turnaround written news (380–500 words), long-form feature writing, and mobile/digital video creation (filming, scripting, presenting, or basic editing).
• Balanced News Instincts: Strong ability to source and verify both grass-roots UK local stories and fast-moving national/global South Asian news.
• Exceptional Self-Organisation: Ability to manage your own time effectively across 5 days to hit written and video publishing quotas alongside feature production milestones.
• UK South Asian Focus: Deep understanding of British South Asian community news, cultural nuances, sports, and current affairs.
• Technical Proficiency: Hands-on experience with WordPress CMS, SEO best practices, short-form video editing tools (e.g. CapCut, Premiere, or Canva), and structured workflow tracking.
• AI-Literate & Adaptable: Eager to integrate AI writing tools and automated news dashboards to streamline routine publishing tasks and boost production speed.

While prior journalism and newsroom experience is required, you will receive comprehensive internal training on:

• DESIblitz News Standards: Sourcing guidelines, house style, tone of voice, UK media law/libel compliance, and local UK news hooks.
• Feature Article Mastery: Frameworks for structure, storytelling, original interviewing techniques, and SEO article optimization.
• AI Tools & Prompt Workflows: Practical training on our custom AI prompt library, automated news feeds, and speed-editing frameworks to maximize your daily efficiency.
  

• Uncapped Sales Commission: Earn a 20% commission on top of your base rate for any advertorials, sponsored packages, or banner adverts you secure for prospects.
  

To apply, please submit your CV along with links to 2/3 published work samples (incorporating both written articles and video/multimedia work) to [email protected].

Important Note: Please ONLY apply if you can fully meet all requirements and consistently maintain the expected 10-story daily output (written and video mix across local UK and global news) for this role.