Wyandotte County Reporter
The Kansas City Star is looking for an experienced, high-energy, self-starting and community-minded reporter to cover Kansas City, Kansas, and Wyandotte County.
This reporter will be tasked with covering local government and other influential institutions with a strong focus on accountability, in a way that reflects and reaches Wyandotte County residents who may have been ignored or undercovered in the past.
They will find the topics that our Wyandotte County readers care about and will dig in, turning both quick stories each week and pursuing more enterprising angles. Story ideas will come from neighborhoods, not just meeting agendas. The reporter will be open to using callouts and other engagement tools to hear directly from residents about what they’d like to see covered and will utilize multiple story formats including service journalism-style explainers and fact checks.
This reporter will also work closely with our Kansas statehouse and other politics reporters to keep an eye on how those in Topeka and Washington are delivering to KCK.
Back when Wyandotte County developed along the Kansas River, jobs in its packinghouses and railroads helped shape the area into a diverse working class hub and a place to land for many immigrants coming to KC — a legacy and character that remains today in the metro’s most racially and ethnically diverse county. More than half of WyCo’s population identifies as Black and/or Hispanic, and nearly a third of households speak a language other than English at home. Fluency in Spanish would be a great asset for this reporter.
This beat will have a particular emphasis on community engagement and building trust among readers and potential readers. This reporter will show up with doggedness and humility to demonstrate that The Star is committed to consistent coverage that is useful to residents. Participation in The Star's broader outreach efforts will be a requirement of this position.
The ideal candidate will have an understanding of how local governments and institutions work, although we don’t aim to tell traditional government stories. We are looking for stories that connect the decisions of those in power to the everyday quality of life of Wyandotte County residents in sharp, fresh ways. We want stories that check forces of power when they don’t follow through, as well as stories about the next generation of cultural influencers shaping the county outside the halls of government.
The position will demand a keen eye for sharp news angles, strong source-building skills and the ability to find scoops and produce revelatory, high-impact journalism.
We are looking for candidates with strong interpersonal skills who can collaborate with editors, reporters, other staff members and residents. This reporter will work closely with editors and our audience development team to make sure we are reaching readers who have shown a thirst for this coverage.
What you'll bring:
Strong writing skills and excellent news judgment.
An unwavering commitment to accurate, ethical journalism.
An understanding of public records laws and how to use them.
Ability to acquire and analyze data.
A collaborator who works well as part of a team.
A self-starter who will develop a strong network of sources to find and pursue stories that will reach a broad audience.
An interest in telling stories using a variety of media and engagement tools, and an enthusiasm for learning new skills and technologies.
Fluency in the science of readership and engagement, including an understanding of metrics/analytics and an understanding of SEO and other audience optimization tactics.
Strong interpersonal skills, including empathy and the ability to take and give constructive criticism.
Ability to work comfortably in a job that will be fast-paced, data-driven, shaped constantly by feedback and experimentation and always evolving.
Minimum Requirements:
Bachelor's degree in journalism/related field or equivalent experience
At least two years of reporting experience