CO Salary Range: USD 45,000.00 per year
The Pueblo Chieftain, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK, is looking for a curious, aggressive, and digitally savvy reporter with a knack for watchdog journalism to join our team. Our government accountability reporter plays a key role in serving our southern Colorado audience by holding the powerful to account, uncovering injustices in local government, and ensuring local and state elected officials and agencies are serving the public fairly and honestly.
The ideal candidate understands or is eager to learn what Pueblo residents care about and how the decisions made by local and state government agencies impact people in Pueblo. The reporter should be able to spot high-interest topics in government and politics and work both independently and in collaborative environments.
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We're looking for someone with experience with investigative reporting, as well as filing and navigating open records requests in the state of Colorado. The right candidate will be a skillful storyteller capable of building and fostering working relationships with sources in Pueblo and across the state.
The Pueblo Chieftain, Colorado's oldest daily newspaper, is a digitally oriented newsroom that demands excellence in multiplatform storytelling. Want to wow us? Go beyond the byline. Show us how you can bring your work to readers in real-time via the many multimedia tools at your disposal. Show us excellent communication skills mixed with an inquisitive mind and bold use of diverse sources.
Minimum Salary: $45,000
Our government accountability reporter will focus on these key areas:
- Covering the daily and weekly developments coming out of Pueblo City Council and the Pueblo Board of County Commissioners while balancing enterprise and investigative projects.
- Providing clear analysis of complex issues in government and politics.
- Providing election coverage for local and state races, including voter guides, candidate profiles, campaign finance reports and more.
- Monitoring audience needs and expectations.
- Connecting with the community through storytelling, building trust and loyalty.
- Localizing national and state trending stories in government and politics.
- Monitoring social media, news feeds, and other relevant sources to identify emerging trends in local politics and government.
Our successful candidate will need to:
- Be capable of quickly establishing their voice.
- Have strong writing skills and a command of grammar and style.
- Have experience filing open records requests.
- Have a passion for political reporting.
- Have an interest in multimedia storytelling, including video.
- Be a self-starter who owns the government/politics beat yet works collaboratively with other reporters locally and regionally to meet common goals.
- Display excellent news judgment and journalism ethics.
- Seek out diverse sources.
- Have a knack for SEO-driven headlines and other audience-driving strategies.
- Be nimble and able to adjust swiftly to shifting news demands.
Requirements:
- Bachelor's or master's degree in journalism or any other subject or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- 1-3 years of reporting experience, preferably covering government in a digitally focused news organization.
- Commitment to detail, accuracy and fairness.
- Ability to multi-task and excel under deadline pressure, using time efficiently.
- This role requires a valid driver's license, reliable transportation, and the minimum liability insurance required by state law.
Application Instructions
We are eager to learn more about you and how you fit this role. When you apply, don't limit your upload to a resume; show us what you've done. To do so, put together a single document file that includes the following, in this order:
- Your resume - one to two pages.
- A cover letter that outlines how you would approach the job and the types of political stories you'd seek to pursue in Pueblo.
- Examples of at least five stories you're proud of. Try to include some that you turned quickly and that used alternative story forms.
It is important that these items be assembled into a single document and uploaded in PDF format. Completing these steps will ensure that your application receives the highest consideration.
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