The Kansas City Business Journal is looking for a Data Reporter to build on the newsroom’s legacy of using data to produce essential, exclusive business coverage. Our Data Reporter is charged with gathering and analyzing original information on the industries, companies and trends driving business decisions in the Kansas City region and communicating findings through text and visual storytelling.
The ideal candidate isn’t looking to fill up a database, but is compelled by intellectual curiosity to get the best-available information from surveys, databases, documents and interviews with local sources and to put these pieces together into a coherent picture for our audience.
Duties
• Collects and analyzes company and industry data for the Business Journal’s weekly industry Lists, using surveys, public documents and other relevant sources.
• Regularly reports and writes stories based on data from the Lists and other research projects using appropriate narrative and visual storytelling techniques;
• Reports and writes cover stories for our print edition, where appropriate;
• Oversees creation of charts and infographics to illustrate research data findings;
• Works alongside reporters and editors on enterprise projects that include or are driven by data;
• Manages Kansas City Business Journal database of regional companies;
• Actively looks for creative ways to tell important stories using data.
Skills
• Strong news judgment, analysis and writing abilities
• A drive to uncover new companies to survey, push reluctant companies to provide data and identify new data sources to continually improve our research results.
• Knowledge of computer data-management applications
• Proven ability to work with databases and spreadsheets to find patterns and stories
• A drive for 100 percent accuracy
• Able to get people to tell you things they don’t want to
• Strong customer service skills
• Solid Microsoft Excel skills a must
• Able to mine and analyze data from surveys, regulatory agencies, other public documents and sources
• Able to work as part of a team and enjoy shared success.
Experience
1-3 years of journalism or equivalent experience
A track record of reporting on business data — including a familiarity with public-company, bank and regulatory filings — a plus
Education
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
To apply, email a cover letter, resume and links to clips that best show enterprising and scoops reporting to Beth Hunt, director of editorial recruiting and development for American City Business Journals; bzhunt@bizjournals.com
