Newsletter Writer

Job Description

About us: 

Documented is dedicated to publishing journalism for and about New York City’s immigrant communities and the policies that affect them. We publish vital, actionable information for asylum seekers and undocumented immigrants living here, as well as hard-hitting and impactful news investigations that have driven policy changes in the city and state. Our original news stories cover the ground-level impact of shifts in labor policy, law-enforcement practices and bureaucratic requirements, the effects of new federal directives as well as Q&As and instructional guides that inform New Yorkers about food, health and financial aid, and legal issues. We have a growing individual donor program and a robust institutional giving program, with support from the Ford Foundation, Emerson Collective, the American Journalism Project, as well as a host of local NYC foundations. Our work has been referenced by The New York Times, The Washington Post, in federal lawsuits, at the New York City Council and many other places.

The role:

For the past few years, Early Arrival has been a steady presence in New York’s immigration

community, providing local, national and federal news about the biggest stories of the week. We

are expanding on this work and are looking for an additional writer who will work on the

weekends, in addition to filling in on weekdays when needed. In addition to writing the newsletter once weekly, this writer may have the opportunity to create new columns or sections for the newsletter.

We want the newsletter to be a lively space where our audience learns about new ideas and

perspectives on the issues they know well. Your work will include interviews, dissecting news

items, and fresh reporting on timely subjects. In addition, the newsletter will continue to host

aggregation on immigration news from around the country.

The ideal candidate must be enthusiastic about building and growing close relationships with our audience, which is mainly comprised of immigrants, immigration lawyers, academics, city, state and federal government employees and people generally interested in immigration issues. You must be able to follow the news, research and write quickly and have a good sense of standards around fairness and writing fact-based responses to news. Think of the newsletter as a column where you’ll be able to build a voice as an immigration authority with a highly experienced and knowledgeable audience.

Responsibilities 

• Writing Documented’s newsletters (currently 1x a week for Monday newsletter, which  requires a Sunday deadline). 

• Reporting: Aggregation, Thoughtful, original writing

• Owning newsletters’ vision, strategy and engagement with users.

• Collaborating with stakeholders in other departments (development, audience, reporters, business & operations)

• Staying on top of digital news products, with a focus on email newsletters

Qualifications

• Experience in journalism

• Writing experience

• Experience or interest in actively building and engaging with newsletter

audiences

• Experience or interest in utilizing a conversational writing style

• User/community-oriented

• Deadline and detail-oriented

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with working with newsletters, emails, and email service providers

• HTML skills

• Immigration knowledge

• Knowledge of New York and federal immigration system

• Experience or interest in product design, Human Centered-design, audience research

Compensation and Benefits

The pay rate for this role is $180 per newsletter. The actual pay rate offered is dependent upon many factors, such as: transferable skills, work experience, business needs and market demands. The base pay rate is subject to change and may be modified in the future. We highly value lived experiences in the issues we cover as a news organization. 

Deadline to Apply: May 9, 2025

Apply here: Link to application form

A Note to Potential Candidates:

Studies have shown that women, trans, non-binary people, and BIPOC are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they meet every one of the qualifications as described in a job description. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organization, and we are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job. That candidate may come from a background less traditional to our field of work, and we welcome the opportunity for new perspectives into our work. We would strongly encourage you to apply, even if you don’t believe you meet every one of the qualifications described.

Powered by Journalismnext