Community Engagement Reporter

Job Description

Opportunity:
The Connecticut Mirror (www.CTMirror.org), a nonprofit, non-partisan statewide online news organization, is launching the “Raising Voices Lab,” a unique form of local service journalism. 
 
The goal of the Raising Voices Lab is to understand and meet the information needs of communities of color and tell stories that have historically been and continue to be absent from dominant narratives about underrepresented communities.
 
We have two immediate openings for the new full-time position of Community Engagement Reporter within the Raising Voices Lab, one in in Hartford and one in Bridgeport. Both of these roles are community-based in that much of the reporter’s time will be spent in the community they are serving and both Community Engagement Reporters will report to Enterprise and Audience Editor Keila Torres-Ocasio.  
 
Job Responsibilities:

• Build relationships and understand information needs in various Hartford and Bridgeport neighborhoods through informal and ongoing community listening and crowdsourcing questions that are most important to community members.
• Conduct research on the crowdsourced questions and distribute the findings / answers back out to communities via weekly texts, social media posts, community events, and Explainers on the CT Mirror website and newsletters
• Produce a monthly short to mid-length story about what’s working in communities of color across all dimensions (e.g., economics, culture, education, health, morale, justice, environment, civic engagement).
• Share learning from the community with CT Mirror’s current beat reporters to engage them in more reporting on topics that communities are interested in.

Job Requirements

Required Qualities:

• Three years of college journalism experience.
• Excellent writing, research, and project management skills.
• Strong interest in service journalism that understands community needs and identifies and communicates resources back to communities to help address those needs.
• Willingness to learn, a burning curiosity, an instinct to innovate, and a hunger to work in a fast-paced environment.
• Natural collaborator and tenacious self-starter.
• The confidence to ask for advice when needed.

 
Our Commitment to You:

• A salary of $60,000 to $65,000 based on experience and skills.
• Medical and dental benefits, generous paid-time-off policy and a 403(b) deferred retirement savings plan and company match.
• Professional development, including opportunities for travel to industry conferences and opportunities to take on additional responsibilities over time.
• Transparent internal review and feedback process and merit-based salary increases.
• You’ll work hard because we’re serious about our mission, but you’ll laugh plenty along the way!
• We embrace the American Press Institute’s Guiding Principles for Nonprofit Newsrooms.

 
About CT Mirror:
CT Mirror is a journalism success story with huge momentum and ambitious growth goals. Founded in 2009, we have historically covered public policy, government, and politics in Connecticut. With the addition of two Community Engagement Reporters we are taking our first step into local service journalism. Our 26-person full-time staff includes 21 journalists and five business team members.
 
Equal Opportunity Employer:
CT Mirror is committed to building an inclusive organization that represents the people and communities we serve. We do not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status in any of our hiring, procurement, volunteer recruitment, or other activities or operations. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, board, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and readers.
 
Apply Today!
Do you think you have some of this experience and aptitude, but not all of it? We encourage you to apply! We are open to a range of different experiences and options for this role, and we know that no candidate is going to check every box we have outlined here.
 
Please apply by Friday, January 31, 2025, using this form. https://airtable.com/appmPgbUU6FJ7IgXB/shrwEuKQBc8E5o6UJ
You will need to include a resume and a cover letter that describes your interest in this role, plus two writing samples of your work. Questions? Contact Keila Torres-Ocasio via email at ktorres-ocasio@ctmirror.org. No phone calls please.
 

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