Service Journalism Reporter

McClatchy is looking for a collaborative, audience-focused reporter for our Northwest service journalism team, whose mission is to help local readers navigate life and the news. This reporter will be based in the Bellingham, Whatcom County area, which is surrounded by some of the best outdoors the PNW has to offer.

Our service team focuses on listening to and serving our local readers with need-to-know information in an accessible approach that sometimes includes explainers, Q&As and fact checks. We dig into local curiosities and issues using engagement tools like regionalized crowdsourced informational sites such as Nextdoor and Reddit, as well as Google Trends to surface high-interest topics. Topic areas could include outdoor recreation and tourism in the Cascade Range and travel across the nearby Canadian border. Reporters also contribute to local and regional projects, and breaking news coverage.

This reporter must be ready to move with agility when the news demands. The successful candidate for this position will be able to take assignments and cultivate and pitch ideas with various reporters and editors. As such, this reporter must have good time management skills, with the ability to work independently while also enjoying a team environment.

Experience with audience growth and engagement tactics such as headline writing and SEO is a must. Expertise in a particular subject area is not required, but the successful candidate will bring a deep understanding of what’s important to local readers, preferably earned by working as part of a local news outlet. A knack for innovation and creative problem solving are essential.

The Northwest service desk works as a team to write across newsrooms in two states: The Bellingham Herald, The News Tribune in Tacoma, The Olympian, the Tri-City Herald and the Idaho Statesman. The reporter will report to the Northwest service journalism team editor.

We have fun, and we write on the news. Here are just a few of the team’s stories:

Boom town or boo town? You decide at these WA ghost towns east of the Cascade Mountains

Trying to find a rental in Bellingham? What landlords can require in income, pets, rules

Got sick, had a bad experience eating at a Bellingham restaurant? Here’s how to report it

What you'll bring:

In this role, you will need to:

Have strong writing and reporting skills, as well as excellent news judgment and solid journalism ethics.

Think about our audiences first and always, with a commitment to tactics that grow readership.

Have a passion for the written word as well as video, audio and motion graphics.

Demonstrate speed, competitiveness and SEO savvy through aggregating and storytelling tools.

Work well in a team environment.

Pitch and execute story ideas quickly.

Data reporting experience is a plus.

Education & experience:

College degree or equivalent work experience.

At least 1-3 years of reporting experience.

When applying, include a persuasive cover letter, your resume and four to six examples of your best work.

The anticipated base pay range for this position is between $21.64 and $24.04 per hour. Individual base pay may vary within that range depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, relevant education, department equity, training, geography and local wage and hours laws.