Ad Age is seeking an ambitious reporter to cover how marketers are making technology decisions as artificial intelligence, digital platforms and changing consumer behavior reshape the business of marketing
This reporter will focus on the decisions marketers and agencies are making now: how brands are using AI, how consumers are discovering and buying products, how technology is reshaping advertising and agency operations and how major platforms are changing the ways marketers reach audiences.
The ideal candidate will move beyond product announcements and incremental technology news to report stories that provide original information, practical guidance and meaningful accountability. This includes deeply reported brand and agency case studies, clear explanations of complex developments, platform coverage with direct consequences for marketers and stories built on documents, data and strong sourcing.
This position reports to Ad Age’s senior editor overseeing technology coverage and will work closely with reporters and editors covering brands, agencies, media, creators and creativity.
What you’ll cover
- How brands and agencies are adopting AI across advertising, search, commerce, creative development, customer experience and marketing operations
- How CMOs and other marketing leaders are deciding where to invest in AI and technology, what they are buying and building and how they are measuring the return.
- The evolution of AI search and what changes in consumer discovery mean for brands
- Developments at Google, Meta, Amazon, OpenAI and other major or emerging platforms that affect advertising and marketing
- The technology stacks, vendors, costs and organizational decisions behind companies’ AI strategies
- How AI is changing marketing jobs, agency models, staffing, compensation and workflows
- Technology pricing, measurement, transparency, privacy and accountability
- Emerging tools and technologies with the potential to materially change how marketers operate
- The business consequences of technology, including which companies benefit, what marketers are spending and whether promised results are being delivered
What you’ll do
- Break news and develop original stories through sustained sourcing across brands, agencies, platforms, technology companies and vendors
- Produce deeply reported stories that reveal how companies are using technology, including the tools selected, investments made, problems encountered and results achieved
- Create authoritative guides and explanatory journalism that answer specific questions for marketers
- Find and report from documents, contracts, research, regulatory materials and internal communications
- Identify consequential developments within a crowded AI and technology news cycle while avoiding coverage that merely repeats widely available announcements
- Translate complex subjects into clear, precise journalism for marketing executives and industry professionals
- Use data and outside research to strengthen reporting and provide readers with useful context
- Develop recurring areas of expertise and update important evergreen coverage as technology and industry practices change
- Identify opportunities to turn reporting into recurring coverage, proprietary datasets, trackers, guides and other Ad Age Intelligence products
- Contribute to newsletters, events, reports, trackers and other Ad Age editorial products when the subject warrants
- Collaborate with audience, data, visual and social teams to determine the most effective way to present and distribute the work
- Work across newsroom beats when technology intersects with brands, agencies, creators, media and creativity
What we’re looking for
- At least five years of professional reporting experience, preferably covering artificial intelligence, digital advertising, search, commerce, enterprise technology or major platforms
- A demonstrated ability to develop sources and generate original story ideas
- Strong news judgment and the ability to distinguish meaningful developments from industry hype
- Experience explaining complicated subjects clearly without oversimplifying them
- An interest in how technology affects business decisions, organizations, workers and consumers
- The ability to report both timely news and more ambitious enterprise or service journalism
- Comfort working with data, research, corporate documents and regulatory materials
- Strong interviewing, writing and organizational skills
- Experience using—or an interest in experimenting with—AI tools as part of the reporting process, paired with strong editorial judgment and a commitment to accuracy
- The ability to work independently while contributing to a collaborative newsroom
- Curiosity, skepticism and a willingness to ask companies for evidence behind their claims
This position is exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act and is not eligible for overtime pay.
Location
Midtown Manhattan office highly preferred but Chicago office location is also an option. You'll be coming in-office three days a week.
Pay Transparency Disclosure
The estimated salary range for this position is $90,000 to $110,000.
The final salary offering will take into account experience, accomplishments and location. In addition to base salary, Crain offers competitive benefits, including retirement plan savings contributions and bonus opportunities based on individual and company performance.
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Brand Overview:
Ad Age is a daily must-read for an influential audience of decision makers and disruptors across the marketing and media landscape.
Created in 1930 to cover a burgeoning industry with objectivity, accuracy, and fairness, Ad Age continues to be powered by award-winning journalism. Today, Ad Age is a global media brand focusing on curated creativity, data and analysis, people and culture, and innovation and forecasting.
From vital print editions to must-attend events and innovative platform offerings, its industry-leading offerings include the coveted A-List & Creativity Awards, Ad Age Small Agency Conference, and proprietary data such as the Leading National Advertisers Report from the Ad Age Datacenter.
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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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Chicago, United States
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