Data Reporter (Journalist)
ConsumerAffairs helps consumers make smart buying decisions in moments of need. Every month millions of consumers turn to our site and tools for help with their considered (often emotional) purchases.
We educate them about their options, learn about their specific needs, and connect hundreds of thousands of them directly to brands. These brands use our SaaS tools to manage their reviews and communicate directly with consumers to serve them better. Our business thrives when the consumers who trust us get matched with the right brands for them.
We’re fast-paced and our core values are the bedrock of who we are and who we want to be.
Our employees believe in raising the bar through data-driven innovation, intellectual curiosity, and grit. We have a team-first mentality, and manifest wins by putting the team first. Collaboration and teamwork are in our hearts; we believe winning together is the most fun. But, above all else, we care. We have servant hearts for our consumers, customers, and colleagues. If you want to be part of a globally diverse team focusing on helping people, in an environment where we raise the bar, win as a team, and care above all else—then ConsumerAffairs may be just the place for you!
About the Job
ConsumerAffairs is looking for a data reporter to help the news team ground its work in numbers, analyze data and produce consumer-focused stories. An ideal candidate is a news junkie who knows how to take a trending topic and quickly spin out a related story based on interesting data points or recent research. The reporter should also be able to go deep into a project when necessary, producing original data analyses and one-of-a-kind stories that will stand out to the ConsumerAffairs audience.
The data reporter will take assignments from the news team and Data Editor but is encouraged to develop story ideas and share them with others for feedback. To be successful, a candidate should know how to find reliable data sources, as well as off-the-beaten path datasets, and to understand how to interpret industry and scientific research. Communicating clearly to the news team about the scope of a data project, the caveats of an analysis and the nuances of data findings is a must. Curiosity, creativity, analytical skills, resourcefulness, and self-motivation are crucial for success.
The goal is to produce quick and original data-based stories that will encourage readers to return to ConsumerAffairs for more. A steady drumbeat of consumer-focused, data-driven articles is expected.
Responsibilities & Expectations
These responsibilities are not to be construed as a complete statement of all duties performed. Employees will be required to perform other job-related duties as required
Conduct data analysis; Identify trends, patterns, and outliers in consumer datasets that could be the basis for news stories; Pitch data-driven article ideas to the news team
Understand where and how to find consumer data and stay apprised of newly published consumer datasets and research
Interview sources and write engaging consumer-focused news stories eagerly and efficiently
Produce data visualizations to accompany articles using Datawrapper or other similar tools
Meet professional obligations through efficient work habits such as meeting deadlines, honoring schedules, coordinating resources in an effective and timely manner and demonstrating respect for others.
Requirements
Minimum Qualifications & Credentials
Education:
Degree in statistics, data science, journalism or relevant field or equivalent experience
Knowledge, skills and abilities:
Ability to identify trends and patterns within data sets and to come up with original and newsworthy stories from data
Experience analyzing data in spreadsheets, such as Google Sheets or Excel
Experience creating data visualizations in tools such as Datawrapper, Flourish or Tableau
Ability to document all steps in data analysis and communicate clearly about those steps to other team members; Ability to recognize and describe the limitations and caveats of data
Ability to turn numbers into cogent, well-written and engaging journalism. Strong writing skills are a must.
Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously; Strong ability to prioritize tasks, communicate about the scope of a project and meet deadlines
Constantly seeks feedback to improve; focused on solving issues through teamwork and collaboration
Acts with urgency; delivers top results in hours and days instead of weeks and months.
Pluses for any candidate:
Background writing consumer-focused news stories on trending topics
Experience working in a fast-paced news environment
Experience analyzing government datasets
Experience with programming languages that facilitates data collection and analysis (e.g., Python, R)
Savvy with search engine optimization
Specific Measures of Success – Expected Outcomes
Over the span of a month, produce an average of one story per day worked
Pitch at least three data-driven stories per week
Increase ConsumerAffairs news pickups on Google News, Newsbreak, Yahoo, Stacker, Flipboard, MSN or other highly visible aggregator sites
Core Values
Raise The Bar
We raise the bar through innovation, intellectual curiosity, and grit. We are not satisfied with yesterday and our hearts thirst to be better tomorrow.
Win As A Team
We manifest wins by putting the team first. We have collaboration and teamwork in our hearts and believe winning together is the most fun.
Care Above All Else
We care above all else. We have servant hearts for our consumers, customers, and colleagues.
Physical Requirements & Environmental Conditions
Location: Remote/ Tulsa
Frequency of travel: Occasional travel may be required for meetings, training and/or conferences.
Light physical activities and efforts required in working within an office environment.
(Reasonable accommodations will be made in accordance with existing ADA requirements for otherwise qualified individuals with disabilities.)
ConsumerAffairs provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.