AI & Marketing Technology Reporter in Lincoln

Ad Age is seeking an ambitious reporter to cover how marketers are making technology decisions as artificial intelligence, digital platforms and changing consumer behaviour 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 organisational 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 judgement 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, organisations, 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 organisational skills.
• Experience using—or an interest in experimenting with—AI tools as part of the reporting process, paired with strong editorial judgement and a commitment to accuracy.
• The ability to work independently while contributing to a collaborative newsroom.
• Curiosity, scepticism 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.