Education Beat Reporter

Job Description

Job Summary:
 
Our education reporter will look for trends in education policy and how that impacts the experience of students, parents, teachers and other education professionals in Hampton Roads.
 
The reporter should know how public and private education is funded and be able to explain to parents and employees of school systems how those funding systems and processes operate.
 
We don’t expect our single education reporter to attend every school board meeting, but they should cultivate relationships with the newsroom’s local government reporters and the local community to know when and where to show up.
 
WHRO has a unique ownership model, with 21 local school districts holding its broadcast license. We anticipate this position to primarily cover K-12 schools, requiring close contact with these school districts.
 
In this position, you’ll be expected to research, pitch, report and produce impactful local journalism for publication on WHRO’s broadcast and digital platforms. You’ll file daily and long-form stories for multiple platforms, contextualizing and humanizing your reporting with a focus on equity and representation across all communities in the region.
 
As part of WHRO’s collaborative newsroom, you’ll work closely with editors, hosts and fellow reporters to align editorial priorities, contribute to enterprise projects and investigations and uphold our values of accuracy, independence and fairness. You’ll also engage with the Hampton Roads community to build trust, source stories and ensure your work reflects the real lives and concerns of the people who live here.      
                                                                                                                                                                                        
All beat reporters will be expected to produce several daily stories a week and regular enterprise stories. They may also collaborate with WHRO’s Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO to bring Hampton Roads story to a larger statewide audience with more reporting and sources.
 
Duties/Responsibilities:

• File regular daily and long-form news which includes digital and broadcast components
• Engage with the Hampton Roads community to build sources and trust within your assigned beat to ensure a full accounting of the stories
• Attend local school board and higher education governing board meetings
• Maintain detailed knowledge of assigned beat at a local, state and national level to find enterprise story topics and break local news within the beat
• Research large quantities of information on one topic and distill it into meaningful, understandable takeaways
• Work closely with an editor, hosts and other colleagues to determine editorial priorities, share ideas and provide accurate, timely engaging health news to WHRO’s audience
• Contextualize and humanize reporting by seeking out a diverse range of local people to center education stories
• Participate in station events as appropriate.
• Ensure all reporting meets the WHRO expectations of accuracy, independence and fairness.
• Have an interest in and talent for engaging with diverse communities
• Lead occasional training and/or listening sessions for the newsroom
• Available to work varied shifts as required by the news cycle
• Pitch big projects, series and investigations
• Other duties as assigned.

Job Requirements

Required Skills/Abilities:

• Demonstrated written and/or verbal communication skills 

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree or 4 years equivalent experience

Preferred Experience:

• Minimum 4 years of demonstrated experience in professional journalism
• Experience in newsroom, preferably local or regional
• Experience in audio field reporting and production 

Additional Preferred Skills:

• Visual journalism including still photography and videography
• Knowledge of Adobe Audition audio editing software
• Fluency in more than one language
• Data visualization skills
• Knowledge of the Hampton Roads, VA region

Physical Activities

• Remaining in a stationary position, often standing or sitting for prolonged periods.
• Moving about to accomplish tasks or moving from one worksite to another.
• Communicating with others to exchange information.
• Repeating motions that may include the wrists, hands and/or fingers.
• Operating motor vehicles.
• Assessing the accuracy, neatness and thoroughness of the work assigned.

Environmental Conditions

• Low temperatures.
• High temperatures.
• Outdoor elements such as precipitation and wind.
• Noisy environments.
• Hazardous conditions.

Physical Demands
Sedentary work that primarily involves sitting/standing.

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