Local Government Reporter (Linn County) Job at The Gazette in Cedar Rapids

This beat centers on coverage of Cedar Rapids – a city of about 140,000 residents – which is home to a variety of major industries, regional cultural attractions and major economic development projects. You’ll also cover Marion – an adjacent family-focused city of 42,000 residents -- seeing significant growth and demand for services. You’ll also cover Linn County government and the three-member Board of Supervisors and several elected offices.

Our ideal reporter has demonstrated experience with public records requests and data-driven reporting and is passionate about sorting through an array of ideas to find the stories that must be told. You’re interested in economic development and growth and want to build nuanced understanding of how cities work. You’ll be covering communities who have reimagined themselves following multiple climate disasters. You’ll need to be an expert at scanning agendas, budgets and finding the not-so-obvious storylines and prioritizing your time. You’ll be able to put ongoing local complex topics into context, focus on the why it happens and what's important about it. You’ll regularly find ways to explain the impacts of decisions through the eyes of those impacted rather than simply reporting the actions of elected officials.

The ideal candidate will have a digital mindset and will use analytics to help find ways to extend the reach of their work. You’ll be passionate about “explainer” style reporting and alternative story forms. You’ll be comfortable working in a competitive news environment.

The ideal candidate will have familiarity with audio and video, the utilization of social media in reporting and should have basic self-editing abilities. You should also be able to utilize data, embrace interactive visualizations and be comfortable with curating content. You’ll also be willing to help host panel conversations as in-person or virtual events, too.

This candidate should have previous reporting experience and be comfortable in an environment where you can grow, but you’ll be expected to collaborate and help others grow, too.

Our organization:

Our news operation is converged and is a quality-driven newsroom that combines digital and print for The Gazette, TheGazette.com as well as several niche sites. Our company has a strong tradition of being independent and is employee owned. The majority of our news team is focused on enterprise reporting, and we have a strong spirit of collaboration with other news agencies. While we’re focused in Cedar Rapids -- Iowa’s second-largest city – we have reporters in Des Moines and Iowa City, home to the University of Iowa. The region is rich with things to do outside of work hours.

Qualifications & requirements:

Ideal candidate will be a flexible, self-motivated, inquisitive, creative go-getter and problem-solver who works well on a team and has excellent communication and team-building skills. Candidate must be highly organized, a confident decision-maker and committed to ongoing improvement and coaching. Juggling multiple deadlines simultaneously should be expected, and you should be comfortable working in a fast-paced environment. An undergraduate degree in journalism, communications, English or a related course of study is required. Candidate must have strong ability to write and report well and distill subjects into understandable and accessible items. Ideal candidate will possess basic video and photography skills and always has a desire to learn new things. Approximately 2 to 5 years of experience in a multimedia newsroom is required.

EOE. Pre-Employment drug screen, motor vehicle and background checks required.