Job Title: Newsroom fellow
Reports to: Assistant Managing Editor
Verite News is a Black-led nonprofit news organization with a twofold mission to produce in-depth journalism that serves the whole community while training, developing and mentoring a new generation of minority journalists.
Launched in fall 2022, Verite is growing a staff that will be recognized as a leader in independent, nonpartisan journalism in the Deep South.
The mission is to create a newsroom that is truly diverse in perspective, background and experience.
To that end, Verite is seeking a class of news fellows to join our newsroom team.
The Verite News Fellowship is designed for early career journalists who want to spend 12 months learning from a newsroom of passionate, dedicated journalists. Fellows are mentored by our news team to become experts in digital storytelling, social media and audience engagement. They produce real work that is distributed to our readership, and by the end of the 12 months are prepared for the next phase of their journalism careers.
The Newsroom Fellowship serves as a means to develop a broad experience in a journalist's career that will foster professional development within the new media arena. In order to cultivate competencies that are critical to success, the fellow will have the opportunity to be exposed to:
Working with a newsroom of talented and experienced reporters.
Pulitzer Prize-winning editors that will provide them professional feedback
Unique projects that will challenge and stretch the Fellow’s skillset
Learn how to aggregate news responsibly, do original reporting, and build sources.
Expectations:
Work with a team of journalists who are focused on revealing and seeking solutions to social inequities and racial equality in our area.
Develop your own story ideas as well as be willing to collaborate with a small team of like-minded journalists
Get people to talk, finding willing sources and being able to protect them while telling sensitive and timely stories
Build trust: Many people who have been impacted by inequities in Louisiana have been victims of predatory actions from other journalists or media outlets. This will require empathy, patience and savvy.
Work with our audience team and data and visual journalists to create compelling story presentations.
What you’ll get:
The opportunity to work alongside and learn from award-winning journalists
$49,500 salary
Medical Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Use of appropriate technology and equipment.
Exposure and training in other media of interest.
How to Apply:
We’re committed to building an inclusive newsroom that represents the people and communities we serve. We especially encourage members of traditionally under-represented communities to apply for this position, including women, people of color, LGBTQIA+ people and people who are differently abled. Please apply here.
If you have any questions feel free to email dpenny@deepsouthtoday.org.Qualified candidates should have:
A bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications or related field.
The ability to work quickly, but with accuracy and good news judgment.
Ability to independently develop and cultivate sources.
Ability to use social media for research and to engage readers.
Digital storytelling skills and open mind to trying new approaches.