Are you interested in growing your career in media and communications? Are you ready to join a network of alumni at organizations like the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal? The Independent Florida Alligator is looking for its next team of reporters, editors, photographers and more for the Summer semester.
The Alligator is an entirely student-run and editorially independent newspaper covering the University of Florida and greater Gainesville community. The staff is made up of reporters, editors, photographers and designers from UF and Santa Fe College with varying levels of journalism and college experience. Each semester The Alligator hires a new staff for the duration of the semester. We’re hiring for Summer 2021. A new staff will be hired for Fall 2021 around August.
Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, The Alligator will continue to operate remotely for the Summer. All mandatory events, such as our weekly staff meets on Sunday, will take place over Zoom. We prioritize the health and safety of our reporters above all else — all staff members are expected to social distance, wear masks and conduct their journalism safely.
The Alligator is a digital-first newsroom, and we strive to deliver engaging online content to our audience and highly value innovative ways to tell stories and integrate multimedia components to our work. Staff are expected to produce daily content for the website and newsletters. In addition to our online content, The Alligator prints once a week on Sundays, with plans to maintain weekly print-production during the Summer semester.
Alligator reporters regularly cover high-profile, national events. Over the course of 2020, they’ve been instrumental in providing daily, in-depth coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic. They covered white supremacist Richard Spencer’s speech at UF and the Women’s March in D.C. They’ve investigated sexual violence on campus and the COVID-19 outbreak within UF’s football team. Reporters have also completed an ambitious project about the racial and socioeconomic divide in Gainesville. The Alligator’s work has been referenced in national outlets such as CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post.
We want to continue this long record of notable coverage –– and we want to grow it. Our newsroom fosters the fundamental ideals of journalism: Not accepting things at face value, answering tough questions and telling important stories.
Being part of The Alligator staff also connects students to a large, diverse and distinguished alumni network. Alligator alumni have gone on to positions, fellowships and professional internships at The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Miami Herald, Tampa Bay Times, Orlando Sentinel, Sun Sentinel, The Palm Beach Post and more. Our alumni include back-to-back Alligator editors-in-chief who were the first two New York Times fellows from UF, as well as at least four subsequent Pulitzer Prize Winners.
Beyond joining an expansive alumni network, working at The Alligator is a great opportunity to meet other passionate student journalists and make lifelong friendships. Hundreds of successful journalists, authors, writers and more have started their careers at The Alligator. We’re ready to continue that tradition and build the next generation of Alligator journalists. Now’s your chance to join.
Please read through the positions we’re hiring.
Application tips from the Editor-in-Chief
All applications are due at 11:59 p.m. on May 2.
Please submit one application per section. For example, you can apply to be an editor, a staff writer and a photographer, but don't do two applications if you want to apply for two reporting positions. There will be space to declare your preferences in the Google Form.
Submit your Google Form. If you have difficulties uploading your resume, clips or class schedule, you can email them to kcassidy@alligator.org.
Only submit three to five of your best clips.
If you're applying to a multimedia position, submit or send us your portfolio.
Pay attention to your grammar and our directions. Read everything twice.
If you’re on the fence about applying, let us know. We’d be happy to answer any questions or concerns you have. You can reach the Editor-in-Chief by emailing kcassidy@alligator.org.
Sports Beat Writer
Sports reporters covering a beat will follow a UF team throughout their season, writing everything from gamers to profiles to bigger enterprise stories they find. We expect our writers to become our resident expert in all things related to their beat. The best applicants will be skilled at working on deadline and able to form reliable source networks. Journalism majors are preferred, but all majors are encouraged to apply. Applicants must be UF or Santa Fe College students.
Pay: $6 a story
Sports General Assignment Reporter
Sometimes we need a little backup, which is where our GA reporter comes in. This person is a jack-of-all-trades in the newsroom and our go-to when we need someone to cover a story in a pinch. General assignment reporters also cover sports stories that don’t necessarily fall on a beat. The Ideal candidate will be versatile and have a strong sense of news judgement. Journalism majors are preferred, but all majors are encouraged to apply. Applicants must be UF or Santa Fe College students.
Pay: $6 a story
Sports Enterprise Reporter
These reporters will spend their summer looking for sports enterprise and investigative stories, answering the “why” behind the “what” and delivering impactful stories to our audience. This position won’t be covering many live events or writing briefs, instead they’ll be expected to produce content on a slower schedule with more reporting. The ideal candidate will have a strong sense of news judgment and be able to handle multiple stories at the same time. Journalism majors are preferred, but all majors are encouraged to apply. Applicants must be UF or Santa Fe College students.
Pay: $6 a story
News Assistant
News assistants allow The Alligator to bring in more people willing to work and learn who may not have the same experience as a staff writer. News assistants will learn how to pitch, write and pursue their own stories. They’ll be expected to write one to three stories per week. Previous contributing writing experience is preferred but not required. Journalism majors are preferred, but all majors are encouraged to apply. Applicants must be UF or Santa Fe College students.
Pay: $3 a story
Podcast Producer and Host
This producer will be in charge of planning and producing at least one weekly episode of an Alligator sports podcast to interview reporters, editors, sources and more to give students an in-depth look at how sports stories are produced. This would provide a different way for students to consume The Alligator’s news on-the-go and contribute to the expansion of our digital products. This producer should be creative, have skills in recording and editing audio and working with a Spotify or Apple system. Journalism majors are preferred, but all majors are encouraged to apply. Applicants must be UF or Santa Fe College students.
Pay: About $5 per episode.
Photographer
Photographers capture the details stories cannot tell on their own. Through speeches, protests, features, sports and daily events on campus, photographers are on the front lines to preserve the history of the community. Photographers are expected to take three to four photos a week that would accompany daily stories. Photographers are also required to complete at least one photo story per month. Although a photographer’s priority is to shoot photos, knowing how to shoot and edit video is also recommended. Previous contributing experience is preferred but not required. Photojournalism majors are preferred, but all majors are encouraged to apply. Applicants must be UF or Santa Fe College students.
Pay: About $5 per assignment.
Visualization Producer/Graphic Designer/Illustrator
The graphic designers will be visual communicators to make it easy and fun for readers to interpret hard-hitting stories. This position is aimed at pushing our digital and online content further. Flexible applicants are preferred, but the graphic designer and data visualizer can work at their leisure. The Alligator is looking for someone who would seize the opportunity to get creative and have their work published. Knowledge of data visualizations, graphics, Adobe programs, coding and an eye for great design are pluses. We’d love someone who can also code unique story packages. Journalism and communications majors are preferred, but all majors are encouraged to apply, especially those with a computer science background. Applicants must be UF or Santa Fe College students.
Pay: About $7 per assignment.
Translator
This translator will be responsible for translating stories and visual content from The Alligator’s coverage to El Caimán. Experience in covering news in Spanish is preferred but not required. Journalism majors are preferred, but all majors are encouraged to apply. Applicants must be UF or Santa Fe College students.
Pay: $3 per story.
Reporter
This reporter will work on original stories for El Caimán and serve the Spanish-speaking community of Gainesville. This reporter should be familiar with the community and the issues that members of the community care about. We’re looking for someone with experience covering news for the spanish-speaking community in Gainesville. Journalism majors are preferred, but all majors are encouraged to apply. Applicants must be UF or Santa Fe College students.
Pay: $6 per story
Avenue Writer
Reporters for The Avenue write about arts, entertainment and culture in Gainesville. You’ll find our Avenue writers out in front of concert crowds and checking out the newest restaurants. As we see an increase in social events this summer, Avenue staff will have a lot of news to keep themselves busy. Ideal applicants will have a good sense of the entertainment scene in Gainesville and be well versed in pop culture. Journalism majors are preferred, but all majors are encouraged to apply. Applicants must be UF or Santa Fe College students.
Pay: $6 per story
