General Assignment Reporter & Newsletter Writer

Date Posted	March 06, 2023
Industry	Digital Media
Specialty	Not Specified
Required Education	Bachelor's Degree
Job Status	Full-time
Salary	Not Specified
Website	https://boulderreportinglab.org

Description:

Boulder Reporting Lab (BRL) is seeking a Reporter and Newsletter Writer to ramp up our daily news coverage in the City of Boulder and surrounding communities and help write our flagship newsletter BRL Today. 

The ideal candidate is a versatile journalist who is curious, driven and excited to be part of a nonprofit local newsroom that has quickly emerged as an influential news source.  Candidates should have experience doing original reporting under deadline pressure. You should be able to synthesize vital community news and information in a conversational voice for our newsletter. We’re looking for a motivated self-starter who will thrive in a collaborative startup environment. 

This is an integral position for our small civic newsroom. Founded in late 2021 in response to the declining number of journalists covering our city and county, BRL’s mission is to help residents make sense of issues and events happening around them with trustworthy, timely, revelatory and contextual reporting. Our journalism helps people better understand Boulder’s thorniest challenges and opportunities, and better connect to the community.

As we grow our in-depth and investigative reporting, this Boulder-based role will also allow us to expand our breaking and daily reporting on local governments, schools, public safety and more. We distribute our journalism through our morning newsletter BRL Today. This new hire will help build that fast-growing newsletter of essential news and information into a daily product. The ideal candidate has a deep interest in Boulder and an understanding of the political, policy, environmental and cultural issues that are playing out across our county. A passion for public-interest local journalism and belief in its power to transform communities is a must.

Job Description

There is no single ideal candidate for this role. Our small team has walked unique paths and brings a diverse set of skills, and we imagine you will bring your own distinctive strengths. We see this as an entry-level, or early-career, position. You probably have 1-3 years of working in a newsroom role, preferably in local news. 

Importantly, we’re looking for someone who is community-oriented, can thrive in a creative startup culture, and brings  insatiable curiosity, grit and innovative ideas. We are committed to representing the voices of diverse communities in Boulder County, and we encourage people of all backgrounds to apply. Given our community mission, this position will be located in or near Boulder. We do not have a physical newsroom but our team works closely together. Being able to work independently and communicate effectively is critical. 

Boulder Reporting Lab is a proud member of the Institute for Nonprofit News, of Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers and of the Colorado News Collaborative (COLab).  This position is salaried and full-time. The salary range is $40,000 – $50,000, with opportunity for growth.

Requirements

• A portfolio of articles you have written that demonstrate an ability to tell meaningful stories and explain issues clearly and concisely. 
• Versatility for reporting and writing across formats — from daily news stories and features to service-oriented pieces, short news briefs, curated newsletter summaries and social media posts. 
• Good, clear writing. 
• Facility with reporting and writing your own stories on tight deadlines. 
• Ability to generate ideas and write quickly and accurately about a range of topics – from school board meetings and transportation policy to public safety and breaking climate disasters – as well as know-how for identifying key sources to contact. 
• An interest in solutions journalism and in challenging entrenched narratives and the negativity bias in news. 
• A love for local news – and hand in hand with that is a love for local politics, policy and other things that make a community tick.
• A commitment to building an inclusive and thoughtful work environment.

We’d be really excited if you also have

• Demonstrated interest in Boulder-specific issues, including local climate challenges, housing and development, and crime and criminal justice.
• Daily newsroom experience.
• Spanish proficiency.
• Proficiency with WordPress and Mailchimp.
• Knack for aesthetic design and photography. 
• An understanding of how to obtain and use public records.
• Data reporting chops (or interest in learning). 

What your day-to-day (or week-to-week) work might look like

• Report and write 3-5 stories and/or news briefs a week on a variety of local topics.
• Assist in photography with your stories. 
• Co-write and report our a.m. newsletter, BRL Today, in our website’s content management system.
• Help publish content across our social media channels and build our presence on them.
• Follow state and local (City of Boulder and Boulder County) public affairs, including tuning into weekly city council meetings. 
• Work with colleagues to brainstorm about membership and fundraising campaigns as needed, as well as occasional events. 

How to Apply 

If you have some combination of the experience and skills we listed, please apply. We understand that no single candidate will have every qualification listed. 

To apply, send your resume, a cover letter, 2-3 references and your best clips to Stacy Feldman at stacy@boulderreportinglab.org (publisher). In your cover letter, tell us about yourself and your past work, why you’re interested in this particular role in this particular newsroom, and if there’s anything about your personal or professional experiences that would bring a valuable perspective to this position and to BRL.

We will begin reviewing applications as we receive them. We will continue to consider candidates for as long as this job ad remains on our website.

More About Boulder Reporting Lab

BRL is a 14-month-old nonprofit, non-partisan, independent local news organization in Boulder, Colorado. Our mission is to deliver high-quality, local-first reporting that helps people make sense of issues and events happening around them and build community. We’re the only independent, digital, not-for-profit newsroom in our city and county. We believe in information equality, and because of that, our stories are free for all to read.

Our journalism is data-driven, solutions-focused and service-oriented, and we’re committed to covering the issues of greatest community interest and concern. BRL’s leadership team brings years of experience in nonprofit news and local journalism. Its founder previously co-founded a national news startup that won several of journalism’s most prestigious awards, including the Pulitzer Prize. We have built a strong foundation of readers and supporters since our November 2021 launch, with seed funding, and will be looking to grow exponentially over the next few years.