Politics Reporter

Job Description:

Req #:	238427
Department:	KUOW / PSPR
Appointing Department Web Address:	https://www.kuow.org/
Job Location Detail:	U District; open to hybrid work schedule (combination in-office + remote)
Posting Date:	09/17/2024
Closing Info:	Open Until Filled
Salary:	$6,813 - $6,820 per month
Other Compensation:	This position is overtime eligible.
Union Position:	Yes
Shift:	First Shift
Benefits:	As a UW employee, you will enjoy generous benefits and work/life programs. For a complete description of our benefits for this position, please visit our website, click here.

KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio is Seattle’s NPR news station. We are an independent, nonprofit news organization producing award-winning journalism, podcasts and events in service to the 3.9 million people in our coverage area. As a self-sustaining service of the University of Washington, our mission is to create and serve a more informed public.

We have an outstanding opportunity for an experienced journalist to serve as Politics Reporter (Reporter 2) to cover politics in Seattle and Western Washington. The ideal candidate will have knowledge about local, regional and statewide political trends, as well as a passion for covering elections at both the local, state and federal levels. You’ll be a regular presence at public meetings and campaign events, and you’ll spend time cultivating deep connections in the region’s political networks to break news. You will help our audience understand its elected officials and the policies that shape everyday life here, and you will uncover secrets that power players want to keep hidden.

Successful candidates will be comfortable interviewing voters and candidates, but will also be familiar with public records requests and databases. When covering city politics, you will use your broad base of knowledge about the Pacific Northwest to make hyperlocal topics relevant to the station’s broader regional audience. Your writing will enliven any topic and engage casual readers. Collaboration with KUOW’s elections team, talk shows, podcasts, photographers and digital staff are a must. Collaboration with other reporters is encouraged, when politics stories touch beats like environment, race and identities, public health, policing, etc.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Create original journalism: (60%)

• Consistently pitch a mix of daily stories and enterprise features on your beat.
• Work closely with editors and show producers on plans that articulate a vision and strategy for coverage of a beat.
• Keep up with politics coverage at competing outlets, both print and audio. Be prepared to read and listen to a lot of political stories and identify gaps in that coverage.
• Have an encyclopedic knowledge of elected officials in Seattle and King County, district maps and party leadership at the local and state level.
• Produce regular scoops on your beat.
• Be able to spot political trends.
• Pitch and pursue occasional investigative stories or series.
• Write prose that sparkles, and self-edit your work as you go.
• Write for both radio and web – and understand the difference.
• Demonstrate rigorous news judgment.
• Produce balanced, unbiased coverage that puts the truth and the public interest ahead of political agenda.

Source Management (20%)

• Maintain a deep rolodex of sources on your beat.
• Identify and cultivate potential sources, meeting with them, and maintaining a relationship for the duration of a story.
• Request and analyze public records.

Talk shows and at live events. (10%)

• Present and discuss reporting on KUOW Talk shows and live events.

Social Media Engagement (5%)

• Engage with social media and source networks as a reporting and distribution tool.

Other duties as assigned (5%)

• Attends and participates in department or organization meeting trainings; training for audio writing.
• Provide production support for on-air fundraising drives,
• Support internal station initiatives.

Requirements include:

• Bachelor’s degree and seven or more years of professional broadcast journalism experience, including experience in covering a beat and specific position requirements relating to news writing, radio production and audio editing software, as well as mastery of all recording and production equipment and techniques, and demonstrated strength in producing for the web; or equivalent combination of education/experience.
• Knowledgeable about emerging platforms and production techniques.

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Duties may occasionally require evening and weekend work when necessary to meet critical deadlines, especially during election cycles.
• Ability to travel when necessary to meet with sources and to attend station events.
• Cubicle/Open workspace environment which may result in additional or higher levels of noise and visual distractions.
• Position is suitable/eligible for Hybrid/Occasional Telework.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY AND RACIAL EQUITY

KUOW and the University of Washington are equal opportunity employers. KUOW is dedicated to building a culturally diverse staff and creating a working environment that promotes racial equity and inclusiveness. We believe attracting and retaining diverse staff is crucial to serving our community and fulfilling our mission. Women, Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC), LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities and veterans are highly encouraged to apply.