Government Accountability Reporter

MLK50: Justice Through Journalism is an award-winning nonprofit digital news site based in Memphis, Tennessee. We strive for our newsroom culture to reflect the values we prize: community, accountability, courage and justice. Our work focuses on the intersection of poverty, power and policy. We examine the systems that make it hard for workers to make ends meet and interrogate those who profit from the status quo. Our mission is to help Memphians — especially workers — have enough resources to thrive and demand that public and private policy supports their success. We strive for our newsroom culture to reflect the values we prize: community, accountability, courage and justice.

And speaking of accountability … we’re looking for an imaginative government accountability reporter to write thoughtful and compelling stories about how the Memphis and Shelby County community holds officials and policymakers accountable.

Our accountability coverage doesn’t center institutions. Instead, it starts with the people — the activists, the movement makers, the whistleblowers and the everyday folk who push the powerful. It gives historical context and uses data and public records to help inform our readers. It’s a job with a wide-ranging scope: The reporter would be at marches, rallies, and some elected bodies’ meetings: Memphis City Council, Shelby County Commission and local government agencies. They’d cover voting rights and voting access. They’d dig into environmental justice concerns. They’d track LGBTQIA+ -related issues.

This enterprising person would forge ties with community groups and nonprofits and develop deep insight into their work and expertise. And they would reveal how Memphians can participate in shaping policy by helping the community understand how the systems and policies work.

Our ideal candidate would have at least five years of full-time reporting experience and be able to produce two to three stories a month. They would be good at cultivating community sources, navigating (sometimes hostile) government bureaucracies and handling research. They should have a solid grasp of AP style. They will have mastered story structure and organization, be passionate about accuracy and history and be willing to explore a variety of storytelling forms. Collaboration is one of our key values, so the candidate should welcome working with colleagues on stories, projects and audience engagement.

This position, which reports to the executive editor, is vital to our goal of exploring power, and to bearing witness to movement-making and lived experiences.

Salary starts at $65,000 and can increase based on experience.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES

Write between 2-3 stories a month, with a mix of enterprise and quick turn pieces

Produce clean and concise content that displays excellent spelling and grammar skills and a solid grasp of AP style

Develop and manage a diverse portfolio of source relationships; help maintain a shared source database

Use data to tell stories

Work with the audience engagement manager and visuals editor to develop one-pagers, social media, in-person events and partnerships around stories and related topics

Create approaches for the distribution of work in the communities we serve

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE IS:

Experienced: You’ll need to hit the ground running: you should have worked a beat for at least three years. A similar one would be ideal

Patient: With a good sense of humor

Flexible: Nimble and able to pivot when priorities shift. Brings a can-do attitude to work.

Memphis-loving: A working knowledge of (or eagerness to immerse yourself in) the character, people, relationships and ways of Memphis

Curious: An eagerness to learn about the topics and MLK50 coverage areas; you stay current on Memphis and national news topics related to our coverage areas

Mission-focused: You frame work through the lens of the most vulnerable, with a focus on poverty, power and policy.

Committed: You keep abreast of social, racial and economic justice movements locally and nationally; you demonstrate an ongoing commitment to the cultural competency that matches MLK50’s mission.

Organized: All staff are expected to prioritize and balance multiple projects simultaneously.

Courageous: You’re willing to disrupt narratives of suffering and interrupt the status quo

BENEFITS

Salary starts at $65,000 and can increase based on experience.

$3,000 hiring bonus

At least two weeks paid vacation, 10 paid holidays per year and two “dark” weeks for a total of at least 30 paid days off per year

$1,000 annual professional development stipend

Company credit card

100% employer-paid health insurance for the employee, 75% for dependents

Company-supplied computer

Life insurance, long and short-term disability

$50 monthly tech stipend

4% employer 401K match

Annual cost of living raise