American Journalism Partnership is hiring: Health Reporter in New Orleans

Verite News is seeking a health reporter to join our newsroom in New Orleans.

The Health Reporter will anchor our health care coverage, serving readers with access to data, fact-finding and dissemination of in-depth and explainer public health journalism. This role will report on how the health care system works, and in many cases does not, for our communities. This role digs deep on how health care providers, hospitals, insurers, governments and consumers are interconnected and impacted, with an eye for equity and access. Our readership includes thought leaders and everyday New Orleanians who need accurate and easy-to-understand information on public health matters.

New Orleans is a gold mine for eager journalists; the stories to be told here are limitless.

Responsibilities:

• Develop stories on the health beat and collaborate closely with a small team of like-minded journalists.
• Get people to talk, finding willing sources and protecting them while telling sensitive and timely stories.
• Build trust: Many people who have been impacted by poor health services in New Orleans have been victims of predatory actions from other journalists or media outlets. This will require empathy, patience and savvy.
• Work with our audience and engagement staffers and data and visual journalists to create compelling story presentations.

It’s a plus if you have:

• Reporting experience
• Experience writing a combination of both longform stories and investigations
• A demonstrated ability to work quickly under tight deadlines
• A knowledge and understanding of nonprofit journalism
• Experience working in a collaborative newsroom setting

What you’ll get:

• Highly competitive salary with medical insurance, and options for vision and dental insurance.
• 29 days paid time off.
• Up to 12 weeks of parental family leave, with return-to-work flexibility.
• Simple IRA with 3 percent company matching. Group-term life insurance provided to employees ($15,000 policy).
• Support for professional training and attending industry conferences.

We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, especially those from traditionally underrepresented communities, including women, people of color, LGBTQ individuals, and people with disabilities.

If you have a question before applying, please reach out to us at dpenny@deepsouthtoday.org and we’ll do our best to answer promptly.