Mississippi Today seeks a community health reporter

The Community Health Reporter will be a cornerstone member of our health team, launched earlier this year, which serves Mississippians with access to data, fact-finding and dissemination of in-depth and explainer public health journalism. This team reports on how the health care system works, and in many cases does not, for Mississippians. We dig deep on how health care providers, hospitals, insurers, governments and consumers are interconnected and impacted, with an eye for equity and access. Our readership includes thought leaders and everyday Mississippians who need accurate and easy-to-understand information on public health matters.

The ideal journalist will be someone who understands the health care considerations of rural and suburban Mississippians alike. This candidate will serve on a four-person team — including an editor, two reporters and a photojournalist — to focus on daily/breaking news stories as well as deeper-dive investigative features, to explore our state’s complicated public health framework and bring some much-needed transparency to its processes.

Mississippi is a gold mine for eager journalists. In this position, you’ll travel the state and meet a diverse range of residents. Between the state’s abortion ban that ultimately led the highest court in the nation to strike down Roe v. Wade, a massive insurance dispute between the state’s largest hospital and largest insurer, an ongoing political battle over Medicaid expansion, and the state’s long-standing, poor public health outcomes, the stories to be told here are limitless.

Expectations:

• Work with a small team of journalists who are focused solely on health in Mississippi.
• Develop your own health story ideas as well as collaborate closely with a small team of like-minded journalists
• Get people to talk, finding willing sources and protect them while telling sensitive and timely stories
• Build trust: Many people who have been impacted by poor health services in Mississippi have been victims of predatory actions from other journalists or media outlets. This will require empathy, patience and savvy.
• Work with our Audience Team and data and visual journalists to create compelling story presentations.

It’s a plus if you have:

• Mississippi reporting experience
• Experience writing a combination of both longform stories and investigations
• A demonstrated ability to work quickly under tight deadlines
• A knowledge and understanding of nonprofit journalism
• Experience working in a collaborative newsroom setting

How to Apply:

Email resume and clips to Community Health Editor Kate Royals at kroyals@mississippitoday.org.

For further details click here.