Boulder Monitor seeks a reporter, rural Montana communities

The Monitor, a dynamic weekly paper and online news site in Jefferson County, Montana, is looking for a half-time reporter to cover the rural communities of Montana City, Clancy, and Jefferson City. As we build audience in these growing places, we need a journalist who will provide strong news and enterprise coverage.

We’re looking for someone who will go deep in these communities, spending time on the ground to explore networks and build trusted relationships. They will provide ongoing, in-person, on-the-ground coverage of the institutions that ground civic life: Schools, businesses, and public safety.

The Monitor has served Jefferson County, a string of communities south of Helena, for more than a century. Under new ownership since 2018, we have made several strategic investments to better serve our audience and community while ensuring financial sustainability. These include:

• A gradual shift to a digital-first publication strategy.
• Expansion of distribution: The Monitor’s paid circulation is up 50% since 2020.
• Online and offline engagement activities that augment the paper’s solutions reporting, catalyzing constructive and inclusive public discourse

We are committed to reporting on the many challenges facing our community, explaining what’s wrong and why, and the Monitor enjoys a heritage of critical and independent reporting. We believe that understanding what’s broken is the first step toward fixing it, and that our leaders must be transparent and accountable.

But we also know that, if people only read about what’s broken, citizenship suffers. That’s why the Monitor also reports on efforts to fix those problems, here and elsewhere. We hope that solutions-focused coverage helps bridge divisions, providing a platform for constructive discussions about the county’s present and future. This reporter will spend half their time pursuing rigorous, solutions-focused reporting that can inform construction civic discourse that, in turn, advances thoughtful decision-making and investment.

This is who we’re looking for:

• An energetic reporter who is passionate about local news and eager to explore rural communities.
• Someone who lives in Jefferson County, Helena, or nearby. This job is all about being there. And we’d like you to spend some time in our Boulder office.
• Understanding of and enthusiasm for a solutions-based approach to reporting.
• An entrepreneurial aptitude. We provide plenty of editorial guidance – and editing – but we’re looking for someone who’s comfortable and confident finding and pursuing stories on their own.
• “Swiss Army knife” skills – and/or the ability to learn. This hire will report and write stories, produce visuals, and create content for our website and social media.

For more information click here.