Houston Landing seeks a small biz and entrepreneurship reporter

The Houston Landing is growing our team of passionate people on a mission to advance democracy in our communities and strengthen the lives of all Houstonians one story at a time. Houston Landing is launching as an independent, nonprofit digital news operation that will cover a broad range of topics serving the Greater Houston community. Houston Landing is initially supported by a coalition of three of Houston’s leading philanthropies including Arnold Ventures, The Houston Endowment and the Kinder Foundation.

At Houston Landing, we are expanding our newsroom to include a small business and entrepreneurship reporter. We have many Fortune 500 corporations in Houston that draw news coverage. But small businesses generate 44 percent of all economic activity in the country. The Houston region is also home to a burgeoning entrepreneurship space highlighted by technology, biomedical research and aerospace.

We will consider applications on an ongoing basis, but we encourage those who are interested to apply ASAP.

Requirements

What you’ll do

You’ll cover important and interesting news about small business and entrepreneurship in one of the largest metropolitan regions of the country. These stories will range from compelling breaking news that needs to be written quickly to enterprise or feature stories that might take a week or more of reporting.
You will write about timely trends and profile influential figures related to your beat.
Working with your editor you will create a strategy to report on small business and entrepreneurship in a way that serves people and communities most impacted by developments in these coverage areas.
You will align your beat coverage around one of our key pillars: producing stories that offer solutions and improve civic engagement.
You’ll work with members of the newsroom to adeptly tell these stories in a variety of ways — traditional articles, videos, photo slideshows and interactives. You and your supervisors will decide which format fits each story best.
You’ll be immersed in the community, routinely attending gatherings, town halls and other types of events to find sources and story ideas.
You will ensure your reporting prioritizes community information needs and includes diverse perspectives.
You’ll work with your editor and the audience team to promote a social media strategy and figure out how best to reach our key audiences.

Who you are

You have two or more years of journalism experience with a track record of doing enterprise and accountability reporting.
You have experience using multiple digital platforms to tell a story.
You have a flexible attitude that allows you to thrive at a digital startup and think creatively.
You are a curious, organized person who is always on the lookout for good story ideas and who knows how to stay on task to make those stories a reality.
You are committed to our mission of finding a new path for quality journalism.
You have a collaborative spirit, strong communication skills and a willingness to listen to diverse perspectives.
You’re committed to accuracy and meeting deadlines.

To apply, go here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.