Enterprise Reporter

The Chattanooga Times Free Press is looking for an experienced reporter to write investigative and enterprise stories of statewide importance in Tennessee.

From Chattanooga, this reporter will keep an eye on state government, including the politics and policies of the statehouse, but also its impact across the state and in Chattanooga. Southeast Tennessee has one of the most powerful legislative delegations in the state, shaping policy and finance for all of Tennessee, and its representatives spend eight months a year in the Chattanooga area. Hamilton County’s congressional delegation will also be in the purview of this reporter.

It will be essential for this reporter to collaborate with others on staff working to inform our readers about state policies affecting health care, public safety, criminal justice, education, business climate and other matters.

This reporter’s central mission will be to examine: Are Tennessee’s institutions, and people in positions of trust, living up to their duties, their promises, the law and the expectations of the public? The right set of skills will be needed to answer this question, including:

Investigative instincts and know-how.
Knowledge of public records laws and a passion for putting those laws to use.
A knack for getting people to talk.
Skills in extracting, understanding and presenting data.

We’re looking for someone with five-plus years of experience at a community or metro news outlet whose work displays compelling writing with demonstrated public impact. Accuracy and fairness are core requirements, and multimedia work is a plus.

To succeed in this job, you will need to be able to work on two tracks, doing some daily stories to get your name out there so people know to call you (and because you get antsy if you don’t) all the while making substantial progress on the longer term work that truly gives you satisfaction.

The Times Free Press is part of a financially solid, privately owned media company with a newsroom that values mission-driven journalism and community service. The newspaper has been named the best in the state by the Tennessee Press Association for seven of the past nine years and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize three times since 2013.

Chattanooga is a phenomenal place to live, known as Scenic City for its natural environment and Gig City for its pioneering internet service. It is one of the top outdoor destinations in the country and has become a magnet for major industries over the past decade. There is a thriving downtown along the Tennessee River, and the city is within a two-hour drive of Atlanta and Nashville.