WFYI seeks a statehouse reporter, education

WFYI Public Media is looking for an experienced journalist to play a vital role in covering how state government, agencies, policymakers, and influencers impact the lives of Indiana’s children and young adults.

The reporter will be based at the Indiana Statehouse and closely follow day-to-day and weekly developments within the legislature when it is in session, particularly in early childhood and K-12 education, and access to college and career readiness. You will be part of an education reporting team focused on systemic inequities in public education and the approaches to addressing them.

The focus on children, K-12, and higher education will provide vast opportunities to make state and national impact through digital and audio reports. You should feel comfortable with data-driven reporting, filing FOIA requests, and shoe-leather reporting to seek out powerful and untold stories. Your expertise and curiosity will be a driving factor in the coverage.

All WFYI journalism initiatives investigate where public policies meant to serve everyone succeed, where they fail, and efforts to fix them. You will collaborate with 35 reporters, editors and engagement specialists.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

To be successful in this role, an individual must be able to perform in a satisfactory manner the essential functions and responsibilities listed below. We will make reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these functions.

Value, contribute to and sustain WFYI’s commitment to a culture of belonging that sees our culture’s history of power and privilege and seeks to balance that with the inclusion of many diverse experiences and perspectives.
Digital storytelling that uses clear, concise writing to inform our audience why a story is important to them.
Collaborate with education team members to produce sound-rich, narrative audio reports and digital presentations for WFYI.org, social media and other platforms.
Daily coverage for broadcast and online if there’s a development in an issue you are actively covering.
Establish and maintain a network of sources and experts in the political and policy realms, including the governor’s office, Department of Education, Family and Social Services Administration, and Department of Child Services.
Pitch investigative and enterprise stories.
Integrate audience interaction with reporting by working with the education team’s community engagement specialist.
Schedule flexibility (some evening, weekend and holiday work).

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE

To perform this job successfully, an individual must have the following education and/or experience unless otherwise noted below.

REQUIRED:

A minimum of five years of reporting experience, including a track record of investigative reporting.
Experience with policy and politics reporting preferred.
Familiarity with NPR and other public media journalism.
Excellent communication skills and ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and work under deadline pressure.
Multiplatform experience including writing and AP Style, taking photos, posting updates and videos to social media and on content management systems.

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