Hart Energy is seeking an enterprising reporter to cover the energy industry for an audience that expects sharp reporting, deep industry knowledge, and actionable insight. This role sits at the center of our newsroom's mission: delivering exclusive news, meaningful analysis, and authoritative coverage that helps energy professionals make informed decisions.
The successful candidate will cover developments across the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, technology, policy, energy transition initiatives, and market trends. The reporter will be expected to break news, cultivate industry sources, and produce coverage that goes beyond daily headlines to explain what developments mean for companies, investors, and the broader energy landscape.
This is a digital-first role in a fast-moving newsroom. You'll publish throughout the day, contribute to newsletters and special reports, leverage analytics to understand audience engagement, and collaborate with editors and colleagues to develop impactful journalism. You'll also have opportunities to participate in Hart Energy's conferences, podcasts, webinars, and other industry-facing initiatives.
Success in this role requires curiosity, strong reporting instincts, a willingness to learn complex topics, and the ability to identify important stories before competitors do. While modern digital and AI-powered tools are part of our workflow, great journalism at Hart Energy remains rooted in reporting, source development, accuracy, and storytelling.
What You'll Do
- Break news and deliver exclusive reporting on developments across the energy industry.
- Cover a broad range of topics including oil and gas operations, markets, corporate strategy, M&A, finance, policy, technology, and energy transition trends.
- Produce quick-turn news stories, feature articles, enterprise reporting, and analytical pieces.
- Build and maintain relationships with executives, investors, analysts, regulators, and industry stakeholders.
- Monitor company filings, earnings reports, transactions, commodity markets, regulatory developments, and industry data to identify stories ahead of competitors.
- Generate original story ideas that align with audience interests and evolving industry priorities.
- Collaborate with editors, audience teams, and fellow journalists to shape coverage and maximize impact.
- Contribute to newsletters, social media promotion, and digital publishing initiatives.
- Participate in Hart Energy conferences, webinars, podcasts, awards programs, and other editorial events as needed.
- Stay informed about technological innovation, market dynamics, policy developments, and forces reshaping the energy sector.
What You'll Bring
- Bachelor's degree in journalism, communications, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
- Three or more years of reporting experience, preferably in business, energy, finance, or related industries.
- Demonstrated ability to break news and cultivate reliable industry sources.
- Strong writing, reporting, interviewing, and fact-checking skills.
- Ability to produce accurate, engaging copy under deadline pressure.
- Excellent news judgment and the ability to identify meaningful developments within complex industries.
- Comfort working in a digital-first environment and managing multiple assignments simultaneously.
- Ability to interpret financial statements, regulatory filings, market data, research reports, and industry trends.
- Familiarity with digital publishing platforms, analytics tools, research databases, and AI-enabled reporting tools.
- Proven ability to develop enterprise stories that provide context, analysis, and value beyond breaking news.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience covering oil and gas, energy markets, commodities, finance, infrastructure, or industrial sectors.
- Familiarity with SEC filings, earnings reports, and capital markets activity.
- Understanding of upstream, midstream, and energy transition sectors.
- Experience producing newsletters, multimedia content, podcasts, or event-related journalism.
- A portfolio demonstrating both breaking news capability and in-depth reporting.
- Existing industry contacts within the energy sector are a plus.
Why Join Hart Energy?
Hart Energy offers the opportunity to cover one of the world's most important industries from its epicenter in Houston. You'll join a respected newsroom with deep industry expertise, engage directly with influential executives and decision-makers, and contribute to journalism that informs energy leaders around the globe.
Location: Houston, TX with in-office presence three days a week highly preferred. For the highly qualified person we are open to remote from a state Crain does business in. Will work CT hours.
Pay Transparency Disclosure:
The estimated salary range for this position is $54,000 to $85,000.
The final salary offering will take into account a wide range of factors, including experience, accomplishments and location. The salary range provided should not be considered as a salary limit or cap. In addition to base salary, Crain also offers competitive benefits including retirement plan savings contributions and bonus opportunities based on individual and company performance.
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About Crain Communications:
Crain Communications is a leading business news and information company with a portfolio of 24 media brands that provide indispensable coverage and data for professionals globally and across sectors, including advertising, automotive, finance, healthcare, staffing, and workforce solutions. Many of Crain’s brands are the most influential media properties in the industries and communities they serve, including Ad Age, Automotive News, Pensions & Investments, Modern Healthcare, Staffing Industry Analysts, as well as Crain’s regional business brands. For more than a century, our dedication to deep sector expertise and journalistic integrity has enabled us to provide trusted insights across all our platforms, empowering today’s business leaders to make industry-shaping decisions. To learn more about Crain Communications, visit crain.com.
Environmental Demands
Where you work matters. The job posting will provide specific information on where and when your amazing work would be performed. Employee work location is determined by the needs of the specific team and may include on-site, hybrid or remote. Employee work location is subject to change.
- An “in-office” role would require the employee to come into the office most days with occasional flexibility to work remotely if tasks can be performed elsewhere and if the manager approves.
- A “remote” role would allow an employee to work from a home office that is in one of the states Crain does business in. We can only employ a remote / "work from home" employee if they reside in one of these states: AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IL, MD, MA, MI, MN, NV, NY, NC, OH, OR, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI, and Washington, DC.
- A “hybrid” role would be a mix of in-office and remote work. There may be a specified schedule for coming into the office or it could be at the discretion of the employee with the manager’s approval, subject to change.
- Employees who live within a reasonable commute distance from a Crain office are expected to work on-site 3 days per week.
Many positions will also include work done in “the field.” Depending on the role, this may include conducting in-person interviews, attending work-related events, meeting with sources or clients. Specifics will be noted in the job posting but are subject to change as a role evolves. Employees may be exposed to adverse environmental conditions, specifically during field work. Other typical job functions are performed under conditions such as those found in general office work.
Travel to cover news stories/events, meetings with clients, and to our geographically separated offices may be required. It is the nature of many positions to experience non-standard working hours and be on-call when needed for responding to email, meeting with clients, attending work-related events, story development or breaking news. Most employees perform work Monday through Friday, although early-morning, evening or weekend shifts may be required. Work schedule and travel requirements are subject to change as a role and needs evolve over time.
Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of many Crain jobs and are subject to change.
Physical activities will include frequent in-person or virtual interactions. For most positions, it is essential to be able to remain at a desk/computer workstation for prolonged periods, perform computer-related tasks, and create/maintain documents within filing systems. Must have close visual acuity to perform an activity, such as preparing and analyzing reports and information, transcribing, viewing a computer terminal, or extensive reading. The typical physical requirements are light work—exerting up to 25lbs of force occasionally and/or up to 10lbs of force frequently and may include climbing, pushing, standing, hearing, walking, reaching, grasping, kneeling, stooping, and repetitive motion. Some positions will have additional physical requirements, including exerting up to 50lbs of force to move and/or carry equipment, supplies, files, or other materials as the role requires.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions and meet the environmental and physical demands of the role.
Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)
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