Investigative Reporters & Editors, Inc. is hiring: Lincoln Investigative Reporte

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Job Summary

Flatwater Free Press, an award-winning nonprofit newsroom that tells important Nebraska stories, is looking for a new reporter to find those hidden stories.

We’re looking for a reporter committed to holding truth to power, a reporter who wants to expose inequities and hold institutions accountable. We’re looking for a truth teller, a digger, someone with the drive and the skills to go deeper.

We’re seeking someone committed to journalism that matters.

This new hire will have help.

The bulk of this reporter’s stories will come from in and around the metro Lincoln area, pop. 350,000. The reporter will work closely with a Lincoln-based editor and the executive editor. The reporter will be given the time, and support, needed to complete depth stories.

Lincoln is Nebraska’s capital city, the seat of governmental and university power, a vibrant and quickly growing metro teeming with stories to tell. The Lincoln reporter, with the aid of editors and co-workers, will find and develop important tales from every corner of the city, weaving together data, documents, anecdotes and good ol’ fashioned notebook reporting.

Show us clips that demonstrate some ability to do this, including clips that expose bad actors, right wrongs or tell intensely human stories.

Commitment to the mission matters more to us than your beat history or previous expertise.
Whether you consider yourself a government watchdog, environmental expert, data sleuth, document wrangler, legislative whiz, narrative writer or expert in the myriad flavors of everyday grift, you will bring something worthwhile to our team.

The Flatwater Free Press is a financially stable, growing and successful newsroom that has won four recent national awards, including the INN’s top prize as the country’s best new nonprofit newsroom. We have hired reporters across the experience spectrum. We pledge to adapt to the journalist we bring on board, pay them fairly, give them ample time off and let them shine.

If this sounds good to you, we want to hear from you. Don’t hesitate to apply.

We are dedicated to building a newsroom that reflects the people we cover. We are committed to diversity and building an inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds. Our first official policy enshrined journalistic independence and integrity. Our second committed us to representing everyone in work and deeds. We encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities. That isn’t something our HR department told us to write. We believe in it.

Key responsibilities

• Report and write a mix of enterprise stories and in-depth investigations, some of them one-week turns and some longer-term projects, all of them delivering impact and insight
• Develop and maintain sources to stay ahead on key developments in assigned beats and ensure accurate and comprehensive coverage
• Pitch at least 12 original story ideas each year
• Utilize multimedia elements, such as photos, videos, and interactive graphics to enhance the storytelling process
• Mentor and collaborate with reporters to enhance investigative journalism skills across the team
• Collaborate with editors to refine and strengthen storytelling techniques
• Uphold the highest standards in journalism, ensuring accuracy, fairness, and impartiality

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, or a related field, or commensurate experience
• Proven experience as a reporter with a strong portfolio of impactful work, preferably with clips that show investigative chops
• Exceptional writing and reporting skills, with a demonstrated ability to tackle complex issues
• Proficiency in multimedia content creation and storytelling across various platforms
• Commitment to the highest ethical standards
• Strong leadership and interpersonal skills

What will you get from us?

• Pay: $55-70,000 per year, depending on experience.
• Benefits: Health, dental, vision, with the company shouldering 80% of costs for the employee and all dependents. 401k with a company match.
• Vacation: Four weeks, with an additional office-wide shutdown the last week of the year.
• A Chance to Tell In-Depth Stories: We don’t publish daily, and thus you won’t be expected to fill a news hole. If you thrive in the 24/7 news cycle, and want to churn out quick hits, this job is not for you. If depth is your game, Flatwater Free Press is our name.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Jan 20. We will continue to accept applications, though we are also beginning interviews.

About the Flatwater Free Press

The Flatwater Free Press produces a combination of investigative journalism and feature stories that hold leaders accountable, explore solutions and share the best of Nebraska. Stories are available online at www.flatwaterfreepress.org, in e-mail newsletters and in partner news outlets across the state. The Flatwater Free Press is published by Nebraska Journalism Trust, the state’s first statewide, independent, nonprofit news organization. Transparency is a core value; financials, policies, bios, and the donor list are here: www.nebraskajournalismtrust.org.