Public Safety and Justice 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 goal 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.

That’s why we’re looking for a public safety and justice reporter who can explore what can, will and does keep Memphians safe. That means tracking some of the familiar places and happenings involved in the city’s criminal justice system, including the efforts to reform policing after the killing of Tyre Nichols by Memphis police officers and the Department of Justice’s recent pattern or practice investigation. It also includes covering the Shelby County district attorney’s office and examining juvenile incarceration. You’ll look at sentencing, backlogs, mediation attempts and the workings of local jails. But it also means digging into police misinformation or “copaganda,” environmental design, and measures residents take to make them feel safe, such as neighborhood watch groups, self-defense classes, mental health techniques and gun ranges.

We believe justice heals intergenerational trauma and the work of oppressive systems. We believe justice seeks resolution by establishing institutions and structures that create peaceful societies. So, this reporter would also delve into restorative justice efforts and alternatives to incarceration.

Our ideal candidate would have at least five years of full-time reporting experience, with preference given to those with prior public safety/criminal justice/government reporting experience. They should be able to produce two to three stories a month. They should 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 central to our goal of building a just, inclusive community where Black working-class Memphians can connect and thrive.

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 outstanding 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; request public records

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 range: Starting at $65,000

$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