The San Diego Union-Tribune is looking for a Reporter to cover border life and immigration issues affecting the San Diego-Tijuana region. We are looking for a versatile journalist who can take an enterprise approach to the beat, focusing on deeply reported, high-impact journalism. At the same time, the successful candidate must be able to juggle aggressive beat work and breaking news.
This is an incredibly dynamic region to cover, and this reporter must be able to identify stories that resonate with a cross-border/U.S. readership. The beat is broad and covers both sides of the border. Coverage topics include everything from border enforcement, immigration policies, and migrant communities in the San Diego region to Tijuana politics, business and culture. This reporter should be able to cut through the rhetoric on border and immigration issues, and bring context and nuance to the beat, all while carefully navigating a complex reporting environment.
What you will do:
- Provide impactful enterprise stories and daily news reports for prominent display in print and on digital platforms
- Build a network of sources within our cross-border community
- Versatility is a must, as stories will cover a variety of topics
- Write on deadline in a fast-paced environment
- Pitch story ideas on a regular basis
- Maintain communication with a supervising editor
- Understand and use company-provided hardware, software and cloud-based equipment and systems for company business and tasks
- Contribute to a positive culture of teamwork and collaboration
- Pitch in on some weekend/holiday metro reporting shifts
What you will bring:
- A minimum of two years of journalism experience or equivalent
- Academic degree or equivalent experience in journalism
- Experience reporting in Mexico or on border issues is preferred but not a must
- Fluency in Spanish
- Ability to simplify complex subjects in a clear, engaging way
- Command of various journalistic writing forms, including narrative and explanatory, with solid news judgment and fluency in style
- Ability to work cooperatively and adaptively in a team setting
- Proven ability to juggle multiple tasks in a deadline-driven environment
- Commitment to the fundamentals of journalism: Fairness, accuracy, accessibility
- The skill to mine human sources, documents and data
Travel:
- 50% – Must have reliable transportation and be able to regularly cross the U.S.-Mexico border; SENTRI Pass recommended
- The job is based in San Diego and requires frequent in-person reporting in Mexico; must be authorized to work in the United States
The hourly wage is $27.64 – $32.45. Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to education, work experience, time in role, certifications, etc.
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