Hart Energy is seeking an experienced, competitive journalist to cover the U.S. shale industry and the mergers, acquisitions, and investment activity shaping North America's upstream oil and gas sector.

This reporter will be responsible for delivering exclusive news, insightful analysis, and market-moving intelligence on exploration and production companies, private equity-backed operators, asset transactions, drilling activity, and the strategic decisions driving development across the nation's major shale basins.

Coverage will largely focus on the Permian Basin, Eagle Ford, Bakken, Haynesville, Marcellus/Utica, DJ Basin and emerging plays, with an emphasis on the companies, executives, investors, and technologies influencing the future of domestic energy production.

The ideal candidate is equally comfortable chasing breaking news, cultivating senior industry sources, analyzing financial and operational data, and producing enterprise stories that help readers understand where the industry is headed next.

Hart Energy is a digital-first newsroom. Reporters publish throughout the day, contribute to newsletters and multimedia products, leverage analytics to inform coverage decisions, and collaborate across editorial, events, and audience teams to serve one of the energy industry's most influential professional audiences.

What You'll Do

• Break news and develop exclusive reporting on upstream oil and gas companies, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and capital markets activity.
• Cover major shale basins and the operators, investors, and service providers active within them.
• Track E&P company strategies, drilling programs, production trends, reserve growth, and operational performance.
• Monitor SEC filings, investor presentations, earnings calls, regulatory filings, and transaction announcements for story opportunities.
• Develop and maintain a robust network of sources among executives, dealmakers, investors, analysts, private equity firms, bankers, attorneys, and industry consultants.
• Produce timely breaking news, analytical features, and data-driven enterprise reporting.
• Identify emerging trends in consolidation, private capital deployment, infrastructure investment, and technological innovation.
• Collaborate with editors, newsletter teams, podcast producers, and event staff to extend coverage across platforms.
• Represent Hart Energy at conferences, industry events, panels, webinars, and executive forums.
• Use audience analytics and digital publishing tools to optimize story performance and reader engagement.

What You Bring

• Bachelor's degree in journalism, communications, business, economics, energy studies, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Five or more years of reporting experience, preferably covering energy, business, finance, or M&A.
• Demonstrated ability to break news, cultivate sources, and produce exclusive journalism.
• Strong understanding of financial statements, corporate transactions, capital markets, and business strategy.
• Ability to interpret and report on SEC filings, investor presentations, earnings reports, and operational data.
• Excellent writing, interviewing, and analytical skills.
• Ability to manage multiple stories and deadlines in a fast-moving digital newsroom.
• Experience using analytics, research databases, and AI-assisted reporting tools to support enterprise journalism.
• A track record of producing reporting that combines speed, accuracy, context, and originality.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience covering shale oil and gas, upstream energy, or energy finance.
• Knowledge of major U.S. producing basins, E&P companies, drilling and completion practices, and industry economics.
• Familiarity with oil and gas reserves reporting, production metrics, and transaction valuation.
• Experience covering M&A, private equity, investment banking, or capital markets.
• Experience producing newsletters, podcasts, multimedia content, or event-related journalism.
• Established source relationships within the energy industry.
• Portfolio demonstrating both breaking news performance and deep analytical reporting.

What Success Looks Like

The successful candidate will become a trusted authority on U.S. shale and upstream dealmaking, consistently delivering exclusive reporting, insightful analysis, and indispensable intelligence that helps Hart Energy readers understand where capital is moving, which operators are gaining momentum, and how strategic decisions are reshaping the North American energy landscape.

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 $80,000 to $100,000.

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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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.