The Tab is hiring a Staff Writer (News)

The Tab is looking for an ambitious Staff Writer to work at its HQ, with a special focus on news.

The Tab is a news site covering student and youth culture, with seven million readers a month. We cover everything from Netflix to politics, as well as dominating uni campuses all over the UK. The Tab is part of Digitalbox Plc – the growing media company behind Entertainment Daily!, The Poke and The Daily Mash. At The Tab we put young people in charge; the average age is 25 and many staff go on to run their own team within three years.

You’ll join a team of 10 journalists in our HQ, writing several stories a day. In this role, you will write stories across many sections including entertainment and trends. This role has a special focus on news, being responsible for regular coverage of student and youth news. This includes: finding scoops, writing national data stories on university stats, leading the reporting on student issues like the ongoing strikes and encampments, and sending regular FOIs to uncover new cross-university stories.

The types of stories you’ll be writing:

•  Revealed: These are officially the druggiest UK universities in 2024
• All the large-scale encampments happening at UK university campuses right now
• The unis where students are most addicted to vaping in 2024, and what their habits are
• There were more than 1 million visits to ChatGPT website at universities in last exam season
• Students wearing blue shirts and chinos banned from Cardiff SU after ‘dangerous’ behaviour
• Hi Barbie! Meet the student who has written her entire dissertation on the Barbie movie
• Explained: This is what the Russell Group admissions scandal is actually about

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• Dead rats and urine: Inside the worst university initiation scandals of all time
• Overworked and underpaid: Why grads are ditching jobs at the Big Four
• Guys, the grandad who ate paint thinking it was yoghurt has died and I’m not okay
• Ranked: The Russell group unis which have plummeted down the world rankings this year
• Oxford University College offers students a Halal menu option but it includes… red wine
• Nine people were arrested for sexual assault at Leeds Festival this year
• These are all the Russell Group universities where staff can still have relationships with students
• This is exactly which Russell Group uni each of the Bridgerton characters would go to
• ‘It’s embarrassing’: The Oompa Loompa from the Wonka experience has finally spoken out
• Accept it: Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones are secret soulmates and here’s the proof
• No ifs, no buts: This is an ultimate ranking of all the Gilmore Girls couples

Key responsibilities: 

• Writing at least four stories a day for The Tab’s national site, focusing on news but also writing fun features across entertainment, trends and guides
• Chasing tips and landing scoops that get picked up in the national papers
• Consistently sending original FOIs, running student surveys, and writing up data stories from a range of sources like UCAS and Guardian University Rankings
• Writing clever and impactful follow-ups to big student stories – e.g. the housing crisis, encampments, ChatGPT on campus
• Working towards monthly pageview targets as set by the Editor-in-Chief

You must have:

• Six months to one year’s experience writing stories with an impressive readership – at a student paper, regional or national title
• Proven experience prioritising and managing multiple tasks at once
• A demonstrable understanding of what’s trending and what students want to read about – from campus trends, mental health, to the newest Netflix show and what’s going big on TikTok
• A 2.1 degree from a UK university

Benefits:

• £22,000 with a pay review after a year
• Hours: 9 am-6 pm on weekdays (with the option to start at 8am and finish at 5pm)
• 4.30pm finishes on a Friday
• 25 days holiday a year plus bank holidays
• An extra day off on your birthday
• Flexible home/remote working options
• Access to our plant-filled office in Spitalfields, East London, which has perks like free yoga classes, cake and office drinks
• A young, sociable, ambitious team
• 24/7 access to doctors via the private WeCare app – for your physical or mental health
• Company-wide parties and retreats every year
• A company MacBook Air

To apply, email your CV plus the following to [email protected]: 

1. Send links to three of your published stories
2. Pitch three stories that are extremely relevant on the day of your application. At least one of these should live in the news section. Write your headline and a very brief synopsis.

Applications close on Thursday 27th June at midnight, and candidates should be available to start ASAP.