staff reporter, EdNews Colorado
Job Description
EdNews Colorado, the award-winning Colorado bureau of the Education News Network covering the state’s public schools, education policymaking apparatus and the national education policy debate, seeks a staff reporter.
The ideal candidates will have experience covering public policy issues — ideally K-12 education — for a major news organization, ideally meeting both multiple daily deadlines and working on longer-term projects. She or he will be mission-driven, entrepreneurial, creative, energetic, curious, and a tenacious reporter.
About Education News Network
The Education News Network (ENN) is a nonprofit news organization covering the national effort to transform public education. Founded in January 2013 as a merger of two award-winning nonprofit education news sites, GothamSchools and EdNews Colorado, ENN is expanding to at least one new location this fall. The bureaus work together to sustain their operations, pooling resources to invest in high-quality supports like a new website coming this fall and a strong earned-revenue director.
We are mission-driven journalists who believe that an independent local press is vital to ensuring that education improves. We seek to provide deep local coverage of education policy and practice that informs decisions and actions, leading to better schools.
Job responsibilities
The staff reporter, based in Denver, Colorado, is responsible for the following:
- Conceiving and reporting daily stories about public schools, from breaking news to feature stories to long-term projects
- Developing sources, collecting scoops, and becoming an expert on a competitive beat
- Contributing to our work at not only developing important stories but also ensuring that our readers read and engage with them by developing creative new ways to deliver stories and engage with our readers
Qualifications
We are seeking candidates who are energized by our mission and excited to help us build a news organization that re-imagines daily newsgathering without abandoning traditional journalistic values. Candidates should have strong reporting skills, a passion for (and ideally, a strong familiarity with) the subject matter, and experience engaging with readers through social media.
In particular, you should have:
- At least three years of journalism experience, ideally reporting in a daily deadline environment and developing original stories
- A track record of successfully communicating with readers through social media
- A high level of comfort with the exciting opportunities and challenges inherent in helping to lead a start-up organization
- Demonstrated organizational skills and an ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously
Experience on the education beat and a familiarity with Colorado are pluses but not requirements. Candidates will ideally have experience reporting on deadline and a familiarity with new media, digital editing of audio and video, and data reporting and visualization methods. Knowledge of html, Excel, and WordPress is also a plus. Compensation depends on experience and is highly competitive.
How to Apply
Please submit a resume, five relevant clips and a cover letter explaining your interest in the reporting position to EdNews editor Maura Walz at mwalz@ednewscolorado.org.
The Education News Network is an equal opportunity employer.
