Politics/City Hall Reporter

HOUSTON POLITICS/CITY HALL REPORTER

The Houston Chronicle seeks a versatile journalist who will work in our organization’s City Hall bureau to produce government and politics stories that go beyond the rhetoric to explain which issues are most important to everyday citizens.

POSITION SUMMARY
This reporter will need to have sound news judgment, and develop relationships with candidates, elected officials and community leaders. She/he also must be able to understand the inner workings of city and county governments -- as well as the regional congressional delegation. She/he will need to be able to pivot quickly, from writing quick turns on city council meetings and poll results, to covering campaign rallies and events, to filing open records requests with an eye toward exposing connections between money and politics. An existing knowledge of Texas and Greater Houston politics is preferred, but is not required, for this position. Experience as a political or government beat reporter in another state also is preferred.

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES

Cover government and politics from the “outside in,” cutting through the bureaucratic jargon to tell readers why they should care.

• Work collaboratively with editors, other reporters, photographers, the digital desk and the “DevHub” data visualization team to tell impactful stories across platforms that engage and retain local subscribers and other readers
• Produce a steady drumbeat of stories of varying lengths
• Work alongside editors to determine what stories are worth pursuing -- and formulating plans for pushing them forward, including alternative story formats that provide different points of entry into a topic
• Familiarity with social media, both in terms of creating content and engaging audience. This means posting short “starter versions” of stories on HoustonChronicle.com before Tweeting them or promoting them on other social platforms
• Write for people, not politicians

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• 3-5 years of experience as a reporter and/or digital producer
• Proven track record of political reporting, especially in Texas preferred
• Understanding of federal and Texas open-records law preferred
• Ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment
• Ability to go anywhere and do anything, from City Halls to County Buildings to Suburban Political Rallies
• Work collaboratively with others, share bylines when applicable, communicate with editors
• Ability to speak a second language such as Spanish a plus

This is a full-time job based in Houston and is not eligible for remote work.

As part of its continued efforts to maintain a safe workplace for employees, Hearst Newspapers requires that all employees who receive a written offer of employment to be fully vaccinated (as defined by the CDC) against the coronavirus by the first day of employment as a condition of employment, to the extent permitted by applicable law. Hearst Newspapers will consider requests for reasonable accommodations on an individual basis in accordance with applicable legal requirments.

About Houston Chronicle:

The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States.

Houston Chronicle is committed to growing and retaining a more diverse workforce that better reflects the communities we serve. We strongly encourage all people of working age, who are traditionally underrepresented in the media to apply, including women, people of color, applicants with disabilities, those from the LGBTQ+ community and veterans.

EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Bachelor’s degree