Community Engagement Reporter

Date Posted	January 09, 2025
Industry	Digital Media
Specialty	Not Specified
Job Status	Full-time
Salary	$60,000 to $65,000

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.

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 [email protected]. No
phone calls please.

Apply

https://airtable.com/appmPgbUU6FJ7IgXB/shrwEuKQBc8E5o6UJ