Early Education Reporter

The Baltimore Banner is seeking a skilled and dedicated reporter to cover early childhood education and wellbeing in the Baltimore region.

The early childhood reporter will cover a cross-section of education, health and social issues that affect Maryland’s youngest residents from birth through age 5, when children’s brains develop most. The beat will cover maternal and infant health, child care issues that include a labor shortage, kindergarten readiness, and the expansion of public preschool, one of pillars of The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, landmark education legislation that commits billions of dollars to improving the state’s schools. This reporter should be equally comfortable pitching issue-focused enterprise stories and covering breaking news.

The early childhood reporter should be adept at building relationships with broad and diverse source networks; this reporter will talk regularly with public education officials, lawmakers, public and private preschool teachers, early childhood education advocates, researchers, students and parents. The early childhood reporter should also have a strong understanding of the primary audience for this coverage — parents — and what interests them.

Collaboration is a key aspect of this role, as the reporter will work closely with The Banner's news partners and be comfortable making appearances on radio and TV. We value data-driven journalism, and the ideal candidate will collaborate with data journalists to produce stories that have a significant impact.
Responsibilities:

Produce a steady stream of compelling enterprise stories that highlight issues and trends, and hold public officials accountable 
Break news stories related to the early childhood beat 
Tell stories in creative and nontraditional formats, making use of visuals, social media and data
Collaborate with The Banner's audience and data teams to engage the audience and distribute content across all platforms 
Work in coordination with other Baltimore Banner editors, reporters, and staff to cover how early childhood education intersects with other topics 

Requirements:

Minimum of five years of experience in journalism 
Strong writing skills and the ability to present complex topics in a conversational manner 
Excellent news judgment and fact-checking skills 
Comfortable working in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment 
Passion for news and content that resonates with readers, particularly parents
Strong teamwork and collaboration skills 
Exceptional interpersonal skills 
Willingness to work evenings and weekends as news demands 
Excellent planning, organizational, and time management abilities 
Familiarity with audience metrics, social media, and SEO to drive audience growth and digital subscriptions 
Commitment to upholding journalistic values and ethics