Baltimore City Government Reporter Job at The Baltimore Sun in Baltimore

Base pay range

$50,000.00/yr - $80,000.00/yr

The Baltimore Sun, an award-winning news organization, seeks a Government Reporter to join our growing editorial team. This role will cover Baltimore City government and politics and provide daily breaking and enterprise coverage for The Baltimore Sun. This beat will investigate the words and actions of city politicians, candidates and government officials, as well as government agencies, to hold them accountable to the people they serve.

Essential Functions

• Cover breaking news related to government including new laws, legislative sessions, public policy, and government accountability.
• Attend and cover government meetings, hearings, press conferences, and other public events.
• Conduct interviews with government officials, policymakers, experts, and stakeholders to gather information and insights.
• Analyze and interpret complex government data, documents, and reports to produce clear, understandable news stories.
• Investigate government activities, corruption, and transparency issues, including local and national government departments, agencies, and programs.
• Strive to provide readers with what we know, when we know it. Be transparent about sources of information.
• Develop stories, produce or secure visuals, get sources to cooperate, corroborate facts, and present information to readers in the most relevant, interesting way.
• Maximize audience engagement through the use of various storytelling formats, including photo galleries, video, aggregation, and a variety of layouts.
• Take the initiative to fact-check, run background checks, and confirm information before publication.
• Deliver on time with minimal to moderate supervision and editing.
• Uncover and propose exclusive stories on newsworthy events and trends.
• Contribute story ideas several times a week, including identifying and following trends outside assigned beat or topic areas, and informing supervisors of possible story ideas arising from trends.
• Measure the performance of one’s own digital content through audience engagement metrics and work with the audience team to develop tactics and strategies to build an audience.
• Work with data and visuals teams, as appropriate, to deepen reporting and produce data-visualization content items.
• Participate in production videos and live streaming with the visuals department, as appropriate.

Education and Experience Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience required
• 3+ years of professional reporting experience at a daily news organization; prior City Hall coverage and experience is a plus.
• Willingness to appear on video for social platforms and television in collaboration with local TV news partners to enhance cross-platform coverage.
• Must be able and willing to work irregular hours and holidays as necessary.
• Must be familiar with computers and software, including internet software.
• Excellent command of verbal and written English.

Salary

Salary Range: $50,000 to $80,000

Individual compensation may vary from the target range based on several factors including experience, internal pay equity, and other relevant business considerations.

Application Submission

Please include a cover letter outlining how you would approach coverage and why your skills make you particularly suited to the role, as well as your résumé. Please also email five samples of your previous reporting/editing work that demonstrate your ability to develop story ideas and cover/edit stories clearly, accurately, and with compelling detail to careers@baltsun.com.

The Baltimore Sun is committed to building a diverse newsroom that reflects the people it covers and the audience it serves. Candidates are encouraged to highlight new perspectives they can bring to our team.

Additional information

• Seniority level: Associate
• Employment type: Full-time
• Job function: Writing/Editing
• Industries: Newspaper Publishing