Human Services Reporter

The Connecticut Mirror (CT Mirror), a nonprofit, nonpartisan, digital newsroom that covers statewide public policy and politics, has an immediate opening for a Human Services Reporter to cover vulnerable populations who receive services from the state or are in state care.

This reporter will be part of a two-person human services team that covers children and families involved in the foster care, group home and juvenile justice systems, housing and homelessness, people of all ages with mental illness or substance use disorders who require state services, low-income individuals and families who rely on state assistance to afford food and healthcare, and people with developmental disabilities. The team will also be responsible for tracking and writing stories about legislation that impacts the people, state agencies and service providers that fall under their coverage area.

We are particularly interested in stories that hold government accountable, make meaningful connections between the role of government and the challenges experienced by the people in these populations, and which convey the humanity of the people who are being served by the state.

This beat will be an integral part of our broader policy coverage, which includes education, justice, health care, state budget, and economic development, among other topics, and will offer frequent opportunities for collaboration with other reporters.

The successful candidate will turn around daily stories and publish deeper-dive enterprise stories on substantive policy and human-interest issues, especially those that would otherwise go untold.

The emphasis of our journalism is on impact and accountability, not on the number of clicks or impressions it generates.

We’re interested in candidates who have:

A passion for great journalism that covers policy, government and politics;
At least five years of experience reporting at a daily news organization;
The ability to translate complex policy into readable and relevant narrative copy;
A talent for connecting government or system failures to human consequences;
An eagerness for telling stories in innovative, compelling ways across platforms and in a way that engages audiences;
The ability to work well both independently and collaboratively with other CT Mirror staff and other news organizations;
Passion for CT Mirror’s public policy mission and nonprofit ethos.

CT Mirror was born in 2009 to fill a gap in local news coverage that was the result of downsizing at legacy print newspapers. Since that time, we have become the most trusted source for news about public policy in the state and have grown considerably from our inception. Over the last few years, we have added a three-person investigative team, expanded our coverage area, diversified our staff to better reflect the population of Connecticut, created a legislative internship program in partnership with Connecticut’s flagship state university, and provided more opportunities for young, aspiring journalists.

Here’s our commitment to the candidate whom we hire:

A competitive salary designed to attract a top-notch reporter with a passion for local journalism.
Medical and dental benefits, generous paid-time-off policy and a basic 403b retirement savings program.
Professional development and the opportunity to learn from peers at industry conferences.
Transparent internal review and feedback process.
Cell phone stipend.
You’ll work hard because we’re serious about our mission, but you’ll laugh plenty along the way because we can’t always be serious!
We embrace the American Press Institute’s Guiding Principles for Nonprofit Newsrooms.