Texas Longhorns Insider at Austin American-Statesman

Texas Longhorns Insider

The American-Statesman’s

Texas Longhorns Insider doesn’t just cover the team, that person innovates on the beat. That person files news-breaking and narrative-setting FOIA requests; deftly writes game coverage, has an eye for angles other don’t see; identifies and focuses coverage on key players each season, with special attention this season on Arch Manning; sources well within the department as well as the conference and the NCAA; and picks up trending topics that resonate with readers.

What will you do?

• Help cover Texas athletics with a focus on football, basketball and baseball, but helping in other areas as well
• Take lead on enterprise topics and public-records reporting related to the Texas Longhorns. We expect novel reporting to come monthly in this role.
• Monitor the junior season and Heisman chase for Arch Manning. This means sourcing up his family and closely tracking his movements, appearances and what the national media is saying about him. Lead the coverage of his story this season.
• Mesh on-court success/happenings with off-court developments (NIL, eligibility rules, coaches compensation, etc.)
• Build sources within Texas athletics to help break news; build sources within the SEC to help provide context to different developments or story ideas. FOIA’ing other universities is part of the job as well.
• Write high-interest trending briefs when they arise. The insider usually takes point on in-the-moment, social-media friendly bursts.
• Appear on camera for videos and other off-platform content; help record video to be posted on social media accounts; help build alternative story formats using our menu of “C2P” options
• Track metrics to ensure we’re putting our efforts into areas that engage with the audience

What will it take to be successful?

• The successful candidate will have experience and comfortability pursuing public records and source-building within athletic departments.
• Time management skills, multitasking skills and prioritization skills under tight deadlines and communication skills will be paramount.
• 3 or more years professional experience covering athletics
• Experience working with different CMSes, with video and with SEO. Experience working with data sets and data visualization.
• Strong ability to use social media and KPIs to guide decision-making on story ideas and beat coverage
• Familiarity with a range of sports and the ability to pinch-hit on certain beats with little notice

About The Austin American-Statesman

The Austin American-Statesman (statesman.com), a division of Hearst Newspapers, is the largest newspaper in Central Texas and one of the largest in the state. Acquired by the Hearst Corporation in 2025, the Statesman was founded in 1871, is an annual winner for different statewide or national awards and has been a Pulitzer finalist.

With 2,500 employees across the nation, HNP represents a network of 24 daily and 52 weekly publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News and Albany Times Union, marketing services businesses, and entertainment businesses such as King Features Syndicate.

At HNP, we are investing in new and innovative ways to tell stories – growing newsrooms, diversifying tools, evolving platforms – to support the millions of people who trust us each month to help them make decisions, take action and be inspired.