NY Times seeks a reporter to cover the FDA

(FILES) In this file photo taken on August 6, 2019 The New York Times logo is seen on a newspaper rack at a convenience store in Washington, DC. - The New York Times said on January 14, 2020 it now has more than five million total subscribers after adding one million for its digital offerings in the past year.The prestigious New York daily, which began its paid digital subscriptions in 2011, has been among the most ambitious in the US media in moving to a paywall model.According to a statement from chief executive Mark Thompson, the Times passed its goal of $800 million of annual digital revenue a year ahead of schedule, double the amount from 2015. (Photo by Alastair Pike / AFP)

The New York Times is looking for an enterprising reporter to take on one of the biggest, juiciest, most consequential beats at the intersection of health, science and big business: covering the Food and Drug Administration.

The agency regulates the safety of products that make up a quarter of consumer spending — everything from drugs to cosmetics, cannabis to stem cell therapies, tobacco to baby food. Its regulatory failings contributed to the catastrophic national crisis of opioid addiction.

It’s flawed oversight of e-cigarettes made possible the explosion of teen vaping. Now, it’s at the heart of approving Covid vaccines that are going into the arms of hundreds of millions of Americans. We need a dogged reporter who has a passion for public health, the skills to dig beneath the surface of the news, comfort with medical science and a fascination with telling the stories of the people whose lives are affected by the agency.

This job involves writing breaking news on FDA decisions, enterprise and features, so strong writing skills are required.

The FDA reporter will join journalists on the health and science desk, and in the Washington bureau and Bizday, who report on related topics, so a collegial spirit will be essential. The job will be based in Washington D.C.

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.