City Hall Reporter

Job Description

JOB DESCRIPTION: CITY HALL/ MUNICIPAL REPORTER

COMPANY INFORMATION

Organization Name: New Bedford Light Inc

Salary Range: $55,000 to $57,000

FLSA Status: Exempt 

Prepared Date: 08-04-2026 (update when finalized)

Hiring Manager Job Title: Executive Editor

Job Level: Individual Contributor

Employment Status: Full-time Salaried

Primary Location: New Bedford, MA

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION

The New Bedford Light is a free and independent digital news outlet. Our mission is to inform and nourish the civic culture of New Bedford and surrounding towns by providing in-depth, fact-based journalism and a broad platform for diverse community voices. We also promote media literacy and educate the public about the vital role of a free press in bolstering our democracy.

THE POSITION: City Hall/Municipal Reporter

The reporter is responsible for both researching and reporting issues of relevance to our community and identifying stories to amplify, or concerns to examine. The reporter is responsible for establishing The Light as a trustworthy, authoritative, and valued source of local news by reporting through a fair and unbiased perspective. The Light produces high-quality news that is regularly re-published by other media outlets and informs professionals and policymakers across the country. 

The reporter is self-directed and maintains the ability to develop sources and contacts from diverse groups of people, acquire public records from local, state and federal governments, and juggle explanatory, enterprise and long-range projects.

The reporter will thrive on reporting and telling stories with data, documents and photos in a hybrid newsroom of experienced and dedicated journalists. The reporter will find, explore, clean and analyze datasets, file documents requests (e.g., FOIA), and write articles for publication online that align with The Light’s audience. We value team players with a willingness to learn, teach and experiment.

The reporter will report to the Executive Editor and will interact daily with the editorial team in a highly collaborative newsroom. 

The ideal candidate will be able to report and complete complex stories and visualize related multimedia elements while meeting deadlines. The candidate will be comfortable working with experienced as well as early-career journalists.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Unwavering commitment to accurate, ethical journalism
• Maintain excellent standards, ensuring content is verified, up-to-date, and helpful
• Possess strong writing and reporting skills and excellent news judgment 
• Pitch, report, and produce original stories on news deadlines for digital platforms
• Demonstrate ability to access and analyze public records, including campaign finance data, court records, property records
• Demonstrate ability to tell stories using a variety of tools and platforms, including capturing and editing video and data/graphics
• Monitor local, state, and national sources of news, information, and resources to identify issues of relevance to New Bedford and the South Coast
• Demonstrate ability to pitch and draft beat-related social media content, ensuring relevance, timeliness, clarity, and cultural awareness
• Demonstrate ability to analyze and visually present data
• Work closely with editors on each story, which will typically go through several rounds of editing.

QUALIFICATIONS

Candidates must: 

• Have at least two years’ experience in covering municipal government
• Demonstrate through clips the ability to write in-depth explanatory/investigative stories as well as daily turnarounds
• Possess a passion for reporting and storytelling with an emphasis on how residents and communities are impacted
• Demonstrate strong listening skills, and be attuned to the needs of vulnerable populations from diverse racial, ethnic, geographic and socio-economic backgrounds
• Possess strong multimedia skills, including photography, audio, video and editing
• Be well organized and capable of juggling multiple tasks and projects while maintaining deadlines and high standards
• Have ability to thrive in a growth environment where you are expected to learn and iterate as you go, take initiative and ownership of your work, collaborate with a team, and adapt as the organization grows and evolves
• Be able to submit public records requests with a variety of government agencies
• Work collaboratively with editors to execute stories from idea to published product
• Maintain a professional social media presence
• Be flexible and comfortable working in an environment where multitasking is the norm
• Must have reliable transportation, valid driver’s license, and meet vehicle insurance requirements for the state of Massachusetts
• Spanish language fluency/proficiency preferable

To apply for this position, please email your resume and links to relevant work samples to Karen Bordeleau (kbordeleau@newbedfordlight.org) by August 21st, 2026

Job Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS

Candidates must: 

• Have at least two years’ experience in covering municipal government
• Demonstrate through clips the ability to write in-depth explanatory/investigative stories as well as daily turnarounds
• Possess a passion for reporting and storytelling with an emphasis on how residents and communities are impacted
• Demonstrate strong listening skills, and be attuned to the needs of vulnerable populations from diverse racial, ethnic, geographic and socio-economic backgrounds
• Possess strong multimedia skills, including photography, audio, video and editing
• Be well organized and capable of juggling multiple tasks and projects while maintaining deadlines and high standards
• Have ability to thrive in a growth environment where you are expected to learn and iterate as you go, take initiative and ownership of your work, collaborate with a team, and adapt as the organization grows and evolves
• Be able to submit public records requests with a variety of government agencies
• Work collaboratively with editors to execute stories from idea to published product
• Maintain a professional social media presence
• Be flexible and comfortable working in an environment where multitasking is the norm
• Must have reliable transportation, valid driver’s license, and meet vehicle insurance requirements for the state of Massachusetts
• Spanish language fluency/proficiency preferable

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