HEXUS is
inviting applications from
would-be web journalists who want to be paid to:
•
Live and work at the bleeding edge of digital-home technology
• Go hands-on with all the cool stuff that makes digital home such great fun
• Write with authority and insight about digital video, music and imagery and the hardware and software used to play, display, record, repurpose and distribute files around the home, on the move and across the internet
• Report for HEXUS from digital-home briefings, exhibitions and conferences in the UK and abroad
• Get to know and earn the respect of the decision-makers shaping our digital world
• Receive on-the-job editorial training of a very high standard
• Go hands-on with all the cool stuff that makes digital home such great fun
• Write with authority and insight about digital video, music and imagery and the hardware and software used to play, display, record, repurpose and distribute files around the home, on the move and across the internet
• Report for HEXUS from digital-home briefings, exhibitions and conferences in the UK and abroad
• Get to know and earn the respect of the decision-makers shaping our digital world
• Receive on-the-job editorial training of a very high standard
To be
considered a suitable candidate, you MUST be:
• Courteous,
ethical, sincere, reliable and provably literate
• Self-motivated and self-managed, yet a willing team-player
• Able to quickly distinguish what’s important editorially and then act decisively. That means being able to react swiftly, intelligently and independently when, as often happens, priorities change in an instant
• Professional in appearance and action (a tie is seldom required) and able to be a worthy ambassador for the UK's best-respected and widest-reaching PC-technology web site – whether face-to-face, on the phone or by email
• Confident in your beliefs and talents but want to learn what ever is necessary to become a respected digital-home expert
• Considerate, mature and open-minded - and able to maintain a balanced outlook, distinguishing constructive feedback from criticism
• Self-motivated and self-managed, yet a willing team-player
• Able to quickly distinguish what’s important editorially and then act decisively. That means being able to react swiftly, intelligently and independently when, as often happens, priorities change in an instant
• Professional in appearance and action (a tie is seldom required) and able to be a worthy ambassador for the UK's best-respected and widest-reaching PC-technology web site – whether face-to-face, on the phone or by email
• Confident in your beliefs and talents but want to learn what ever is necessary to become a respected digital-home expert
• Considerate, mature and open-minded - and able to maintain a balanced outlook, distinguishing constructive feedback from criticism
A valid UK passport and credit card are necessities and fast access to central London and having your own motorised transport would be useful – as would the whole-hearted support and understanding of your loved ones.
You'll also need to be comfortable when up to your elbows inside a home-networked Windows PC, whether troubleshooting, upgrading or building from scratch. Knowledge of Apple Macs wouldn't go amiss either (ditto Linux).
If you sincerely believe you're the sort of person we have in mind and relish the idea of taking up what might be your once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, apply without hesitation.
Apply by email to bob.crabtree@HEXUS.net, explaining why he need look no further and what relevant experience you have – professional or otherwise. Applications should be received by Wednesday, March 8.
Include two articles in RTF format. One should be a news feature of 450-600 words and written to the style of HEXUS.lifestyle Headline articles. The other should be a news summary of the same piece suitable for the HEXUS.lifestyle front-page and of 60 words or fewer. Write appropriate headlines for each piece and suggest (or include) appropriate images.
The subject of the articles should be based on one of the following:
• High-definition
DVD – how the sector looks to be
shaping up (clue - CES 2006 recently ended)
• Legal video downloads – what's come available recently and is due in the near future (ditto - but more has happened since)
• Something newsworthy that you know is of even more interest to a majority of digital-home enthusiasts than either of the above
• Legal video downloads – what's come available recently and is due in the near future (ditto - but more has happened since)
• Something newsworthy that you know is of even more interest to a majority of digital-home enthusiasts than either of the above
We've given some clues about where to research these articles but we absolutely do NOT expect you to rip-off stuff you find on the internet - or anywhere else - pretending someone else's words or ideas are your own. It is normal, in a news environment, though, to use the best available sources but we expect you to properly attribute them (with URLs or whatever references are appropriate) - and to have searched the HEXUS.net site before looking to the wider web.
Include with your application an up-to-date CV. Make sure this lets us know your full name, date of birth, current residential address and phone numbers - landline and mobile.
Set out your realistic salary expectations, understanding that HEXUS will pay all justifiable work-related expenses, including your communications costs - landline, mobile and high-speed broadband.
Your editor at HEXUS.lifestyle will be Bob Crabtree who writes:
I’m looking for a grafter with talent, knowledge and enthusiasm to work full-time helping to ensure that HEXUS.lifestyle is THE place for everyone interested in digital media to visit again and again.
There will be tight, daily deadlines but the work you produce must still read well and truthfully inform, expertly help and consistently entertain.
You will want to ensure that people soon start looking out for your by-line on stories but will also understand at a gut level that witty remarks and smart phrasing are intended to make for a more enjoyable read, not substitute for facts.
We intend to throw you in at the deep end. Ideally, from the off, you'll be able to write hard news and informative previews and reviews, along with insightful overviews on the trends and happenings in digital-home technology.
That may not be realistic but, if we judge you to be the right candidate, we'll do everything we can to bring you up to speed as soon as possible.
The position is intended to be full-time. We just might consider making it part-time but only for a truly exceptional candidate.
Whatever skills and knowledge you bring, expect there to be a whole lot more to learn - about digital home, journalism and web publishing.
If you have any queries, feel free to email me but please do not PM me in the HEXUS.community forums. Know, though, that stupid questions might say more about you than you want said. Oh - and good luck.
