Newsquest South West is looking for a new trainee reporter to join our team in Somerset. This role is suited to a trainee who has completed their NCTJ diploma and is ready to make an immediate impact reporting on an area with big ambitions and bags of potential.You will be part of a team that produces the Somerset County Gazette, Bridgwater Mercury, Burnham & Highbridge Weekly News and Chard & Ilminster News.We need a reporter who will take ownership of growing our online audience in the wider Somerset area, as well as help report on Taunton and breaking news across the patch.It’s an exciting and varied job. You could be doing a Facebook Live report from a town centre during a food festival, running a live blog from a breaking news incident, and writing a heart-warming community story all on the same shift.The role will involve occasional weekend work as part of a rota, once you’ve established yourself in the team.We’ll give you the on-the-job training and support needed to help you become a first-class senior reporter in a lively patch, working for one of the UK’s biggest news publishers.About YouThis role suits a trainee who can make an impact, with big ideas and ambitions, an eye for a story and a flair for social media.You’ll be expected to make contacts on your patch and find great stories. As a reporter, you have to be there at the best and worst times in people’s lives and you need to handle both appropriately. You could be talking to business owners about how they are tackling the cost of living crisis, talking to people who have suffered bereavement or injustice, or interviewing a local political figure.Our reporters are expected to meet audience and subscription benchmarks, which means learning how to find a good story, how to tell it across different platforms and how to get it in front of more people through social media and SEO.The ideal candidate will already have the gold standard NCTJ diploma including shorthand and a driving licence, but the right attitude is more important.We are an inclusive workplace and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.We don’t expect you to know it all on day one, but we do expect a can-do attitude and keenness to learn. If you do, you’ll get lots of support and be part of a great team.If this sounds like the job for you, please apply with your CV, cover letter, examples of your published work and three great story ideas you’d like to follow up in your first week, no later than Thursday, June 6.Find out more about this role by reading the information below, then apply to be considered.Newsquest is a media company with a difference.We are committed to bringing a voice to your region by investing in a passionate team of journalists who proudly serve their communities by sharing authoritative news that readers trust.As well as dedicated sales teams which provide local businesses with highly responsive digital advertising and marketing solutions.