Statehouse Reporter

LNP | LancasterOnline is looking for a Statehouse Reporter to join our team! The statehouse reporter, working at the direction of the Harrisburg bureau chief for The Caucus and LNP | LancasterOnline, covers policy and politics in both houses of Pennsylvania’s bicameral Legislature, the states many departments, agencies, boards and commissions, as well as the governors office. The statehouse reporter provides a mix of daily, short-term and long-term investigative stories for the twice-monthly Caucus newspaper and LNP | LancasterOnline, which are published by parent company LNP Media Group.

Why work with us?

We know that employees are a business’s greatest asset and the primary driver of success. We are committed to attracting and retaining people who are bright, curious, flexible, and energetic, to ensure our progress for the next 225 years.

As a team member at LNP | LancasterOnline, you’ll enjoy:

Paid Holidays
Paid Time Off
Benefits: medical, prescription, dental, vision, short-term disability, basic life insurance
401(k) with Company Match

About Us:

For nearly 158 years and four generations, the Steinman family of Lancaster owned and operated what today is LNP Media Group. LNP Media Group comprises three local newspapers, a news website, and a marketing agency. LNP Media Group’s daily newspaper is LNP which, with its companion site LancasterOnline.com, is Lancaster County’s top source of news and information. The other two publications are The Ephrata Review and The Lititz Record, hyper-local weekly newspapers.

Founded by educators in 1963, WITF has been an essential part of the civic, educational and cultural fabric of the Central Pennsylvania region for over 60 years. WITF operates a non-commercial television station in Harrisburg, and the region’s NPR radio station WITF-FM (89.5).

Starting in July 2023, LNP Media Group and WITF — two vibrant, local institutions — marked a new era: Steinman Communications, which is owned by the Steinman family, gifted LNP Media Group and its publications to WITF as a capstone to the family’s two centuries of community service and philanthropy. Together, WITF and LNP Media Group are creating a new mission-driven and sustainable model for local news and strategic marketing for local businesses. With their partners at WITF, LNP Media Group will continue to provide highly effective marketing

Essential Job Functions (Full Description):

The statehouse reporter collaborates with other members of the Harrisburg Bureau and with reporters and editors in the Lancaster newsroom on story ideas and group reporting projects. The statehouse reporter also helps LNP | LancasterOnline cover legislative and congressional races in Lancaster County and occasionally contributes other political reporting on the county level, including political party endorsements, primary and general election campaigns, campaign finance, election activities and Election Day coverage.

Reporters for LNP Media Group exercise strong news judgment and news-gathering capabilities to provide up-to-the-minute information across the company’s digital platforms and insightful, contextual and analytical journalism for The Caucus and LNP | LancasterOnline. Reporters are expected to develop authoritative sources in the community, collaborate with other Caucus, LNP and LancasterOnline journalists and identify stories that are compelling to this community news organizations audience. Reporters are also expected to meet the demands of a growing digital audience by routinely using social media, shooting photographs and video, and understanding how to post their work using a content-management system.

Reporting

Organizes materials, determines focus and writes stories according to prescribed editorial style and format standards, both for the newspaper and online.
Makes use of all available tools to generate accurate, timely and compelling content and may be required to do so with a digital-first mentality; with attention to both detail and deadlines.
Builds expertise in a particular beat through research, experience and growing a network of relevant contacts in the community.
Regularly curates and aggregates content from other sources and presents them to our audience with additional commentary or explanation.

Digital & social media

Tracks metrics and conversations on the materials they’ve created to optimize results and shape future work toward that audience.
Strives to keep our organization at the leading edge of online, mobile and social-network use and innovation.
Actively builds a social media presence, which includes not just posting content, but also engaging with our audience.
Thinks visually as well as verbally: Takes photos and shoots/edits video to accompany stories as needed.
Takes responsibility for his or her own content, in terms of posting it online and subsequently being an aggressive marketer of that content across all relevant platforms.

Requirements

What are we looking for?

Bachelors degree in journalism, English, mass communications or related field is required, with a proven knowledge and experience working with current media creation tools and contemporary newsroom systems, producing digital and print content, preferred.
May be required to meet AP writing style, depending on the publication.
Solid understanding of news writing, journalistic ethics and story structure.
Must be able to work nights and weekends as necessary.
Team player who enjoys a fast-paced work environment.
Wishes to work in a business environment in which every employee seeks to be great every day.