News Enterprise Reporter

Want to help us deliver essential local news in a privately-owned newsroom operating in a competitive news market?

Cascadia Daily News, a startup digital daily/print weekly news publication, needs a flexible journalist to serve as a general assignment/enterprise reporter in a desirable Pacific Northwest community. We’re a young, growing publication with the largest newsroom in Northwest Washington state. CDN is 100% chain, hedge fund and advisory board free; our news decisions are made in our newsroom.

Our ideal candidate will be a nimble reporter with some courts and crime reporting experience, able to jump on breaking news and produce smart, contextual, enterprise journalism in a digital-first newsroom. It’s not an entry-level gig; we need a reporter with news judgment and reporting skills to anticipate and produce local takes on subjects with regional and national interest. Participation in several pending CDN enterprise projects is also a feature of this job.

On our team-oriented staff, this reporter must be able to work independently, with the drive and skills to produce cleanly written daily stories derived from original reporting. You’ll have the opportunity to write stories from a few specific beat assignments, but we’re open to pitches off any topic with impact and relevance to our region. We will give preferred review to candidates who speak Spanish.

You would join a team-oriented, enterprising work environment in a growing, thriving university town located on the Salish Sea between Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia, within easy reach of Mount Baker and North Cascades National Park. Our hometown is known for its stunning natural setting, a regional mountain biking obsession and a robust urban microbrewery culture.

What you will do:

Report and write quick-turn explainers on breaking news, trending topics, interesting events and activities across Northwest Washington state.
Pair with visual journalists to bring impactful photojournalism to our readers.
Maintain an active presence on social media to promote and distribute your work, and occasionally report live events.
Brainstorm story ideas and work with editors to repurpose some content and enhance our existing daily digital/social storytelling.
Keep an ongoing list of active story ideas with an eye toward ambitious projects.

What it will take to be successful:

Comfort with producing accurate, high-quality work on deadline, with a background in writing for an audience across several publishing channels.
Strong news judgment, creativity and meticulousness.
Ability to report stories and write quickly while keeping the strictest commitment to fairness, accuracy and clarity.
A focus on inclusion of a diversity of sources and voices in stories.
Ability to maintain contact via Slack and other tools for breaking news assignments when working from home or on location; some flexible scheduling is required.
Ability to collaborate with all newsroom teams and work in a fast-changing news environment.

Required skills:

Bachelor’s degree in journalism or related field.
At least two years’ experience in a newsroom or a related work environment.
Home base in Whatcom County, Washington. This position is full-time in our newsroom in a historic building in downtown Bellingham.
Strong news judgment and the ability to distinguish process from news of community impact.
Familiarity with current AP Style rules and libel laws, and adherence to the publication’s ethics guidelines.
Valid driver’s license and access to a vehicle.

Preferred skills and qualifications:

Ability to speak fluent Spanish and/or other languages.
Basic photography/videography skills and ability to post digital audio and images.
Ability to work cooperatively in a team-oriented, multigenerational newsroom.
Familiarity with MS Office (Excel, SharePoint), Adobe Suite, Slack and other typical office comms tools.
Cohabitating senses of adventure and humor. We are serious about our hard work, but have fun doing it.

What we offer:

Pay ranging from $50k to $65K DOE.
Competitive benefits include full health, vision and dental insurance, holiday and sick leave pay and generous 401(k) plan.
Employment by a privately owned publication that operates with strict ethical standards; is transparent and consumer-oriented in its approach to news; and is outwardly and unabashedly pro-democracy.
Competitive news environment: We’re one of the few independent publications in the country going head-to-head, successfully, with a hedge-fund newspaper chain.
A local news organization committed to incorporating the perspectives of colleagues and community members from varied experiences and backgrounds. We are committed to diversity in coverage and hiring. We employ a robust Citizens Agenda campaign to engage our readers in election coverage.

To apply: Send a letter of application, resume and work samples to Ron Judd, executive editor, ronjudd@cascadiadaily.com.