Features Reporter

Want to relocate to one of the most scenic, up-and-coming areas of British Columbia while doing what you love? The Goat, the primary news publication for east-central BC, is hiring a full-time Features Reporter based in Valemount to report on civic issues under the Local Journalism Initiative program. We are hoping the successful candidate will continue beyond the one-year LJI contract as an editor/reporter/owner. (The Goat is for sale and we are actively seeking a qualified journalist-editor to take over this successful and profitable media company. A full-time owner/editor/publisher could easily pay themselves $80k/year. The current owner is willing to provide transitionary assistance and work part-time going forward if needed).

Valemount is in a tourism-rich area and boasts a micro-brewery, bike park, dozens of hiking trails, and incredible views. It is the closest town to Mt. Robson, the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies, and nestled between Jasper National Park, Mt. Robson Provincial Park, and Wells Grey Provincial Park.

The area is at the nexus of issues important not just to locals but BC residents and all Canadians: forestry policy, the Trans Mountain pipeline, railway transport & safety, Boom & Bust resource economies, agriculture and agricultural policy, the potential development of geothermal power, glacier loss, forest fires, the Columbia River Treaty, wildlife conservation, rural health care, and highways to name a few. The journalist will also cover institutions such as our local villages, regional districts, Northern Health, School District 57, provincial government, federal government and others.

This position would provide a great launching pad to a larger publication in that the job involves covering topics of provincial and national interest.

The Goat delivers local and regional hard news and community news. It's independent, locally-owned and the primary source of civic journalism for the Robson Valley and upper North Thompson Valley. It also has a large online readership in the Robson and North Thompson Valleys, Prince George, Lower Mainland, Kamloops and Alberta.

The journalist will be responsible for:

Covering civic institutions such as municipal councils, regional districts, school boards, and keeping on top of changes to provincial and national legislation and finding local stories pertaining to those laws.
Reporting clearly and accurately with a desire to dig into more in-depth stories
5-7 stories/week