Reporter II, Health and Housing

Who We Are:

Southern California Public Radio (SCPR) is a member-supported public media network whose mission is to strengthen the civic and cultural bonds that unite Southern California's diverse communities by providing the highest quality news and information service on air at LAist 89.3, online at LAist.com and through LAist Live Programming & Events. Since our founding in 1999, SCPR has been a fast growing, innovative, multi-platform public service newsroom. Every day, our staff helps audiences catch up on the latest headlines, solve the complexities of life in Southern California, and connect curious communities to one another.

Position Summary:

Across L.A. County, more than 75,000 people experience homelessness, according to the latest count. That number has spiked in recent years as the pandemic pushed up already high rent prices and evictions surged. Local public health data shows overdoses, transportation-related injuries, suicide, and coronary heart disease all occur at higher rates among the unhoused population. Fentanyl has been particularly deadly; drug use was a factor in hundreds of deaths in the L.A. area last year.

Health and safety issues are also prevalent in Southern California's rental units, where issues like mold, pests and high temperatures impact public welfare. And many families struggle to juggle health care issues with high housing costs: A recent UCLA study found over half of L.A. County households pay more than 30% of their income on housing costs.

LAist is looking for a passionate reporter to examine the health challenges facing Southern Californians who are unhoused or struggling to afford housing. You'll join a team of reporters covering housing focused on L.A. and Orange counties.

• Part of this reporter's mission will be to watchdog how well government agencies are serving people and to report on public and private efforts to improve quality and access to care.

• We're looking for someone who brings strong journalism fundamentals, beat knowledge, curiosity, and an interest in government accountability reporting. This reporter will report daily and enterprise stories, and will look for opportunities to engage with our audiences. Working in our cross-platform newsroom, they will report, write, and produce on-air reports, post online stories, and use social media and web tools to report, engage beat sources, and listeners and readers, and develop reporting projects. This reporter will work collaboratively across the newsroom.

• Like all our reporters, we expect this reporter will build engagement into the reporting process, actively listening to our audience for story ideas, reporting leads and expertise.

Compensation: The pay rate for this opportunity will be no less than $37.26 per hour and no more than $45.00 per hour. Exact pay rate determined by experience and education related to the role, organizational compensation structure, budget and internal equity. The grade of this position is IS.

Position Responsibilities:

• Report and produce daily and breaking news stories and feature stories on deadline for radio, web, and social media
• Deliver stories with fully developed on-air style and originality in writing
• Develop deep expertise and source lists on the beat
• On a weekly basis, monitor local government agendas and attend meetings remotely and in person
• Regularly file public record requests
• Work with data to help find and develop stories
• Report complex stories quickly, producing at least two stories per week; bring complicated ideas to our readers and listeners with moderate direction from editor
• Provide live newscast reports and talk show and host 2-ways
• Participate in special projects including editorial projects and live events
• Propose ideas, topics for on-air programs
• Operate production and studio equipment
• Use audience engagement as a reporting tool
• Other duties as assigned

Required Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience
• 3+ years or more professional journalism experience

Required Skills, Knowledge and Abilities:

• Demonstrated radio reporting, digital news, and production skills
• Proven ability to identify and originate stories, report accurately and quickly and meet deadlines
• Ability to develop areas of expertise and establish beat priorities and goals
• Demonstrated capacity to use public documents, internet research and other reporting methods to provide independent material to inform stories
• Strong writing, reporting and interviewing skills
• Ability to provide live reports and two-ways
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively
• General and developing knowledge of beat
• Ability to tackle difficult projects
• Ability to work simultaneously on short- and long-term projects
• Ability to produce compelling storytelling with originality in writing
• Ability to develop stories with multiple interviews, scene changes, and strong knowledge of subject matter
• Become and remain a member in good standing of SAG-AFTRA by the thirtieth (30th) day of employment

Preferred Skills and Experience:

• Past experience covering local government
• Demonstrated track record of producing stories that originate from public records requests

Physical Demands and Working Conditions:

• Ability to travel when needed
• Must be able to perform the essential duties of the position with or without reasonable accommodation
• Ability to manage some work outside of standard office hours as needed.
• Physical Demands:
  
  • Required to move about in an office environment and sit for extended periods of time
  • Required to move about in the community
  • Frequent use of hands for data entry/keystrokes and simple grasping
• Working Conditions:
  
  • Moderate noise level

Southern California Public Radio (LAist 89.3/LAist.com/LAist Studios) is diverse in race, ethnicity, language, culture, social class, national origin, religious and political belief, age, ability, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation in addition to other markers protected by law.

At SCPR, we strive to create an inclusive environment where we all feel pride in who we are and what we do. We are encouraged to show up as we are - always embracing and recognizing that our diversity is what brings us together. Our fundamental commitment to diversity:

• Enriches SCPR and provides an atmosphere in which all human potential is valued
• Promotes learning through interactions among people of different backgrounds and many perspectives, and
• Enables the organization to prepare all employees to promote social responsibility, equity, freedom, and productive citizenship in a global society

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We are committed to hiring a breadth of diverse professionals and encourage you to apply.