McClatchy

Job Details

Description

The Kansas City Star, winner of nine Pulitzer Prizes, seeks a driven and audience-focused reporter to join its collaborative and fast-paced newsroom as a service journalism reporter.

If you want to write about a little bit of everything, help Kansans and Missourians live their best lives, celebrate what’s unique about living in Kansas City, and be at the center of the region’s biggest news and events, this is the right role for you.

The team is focused on utility journalism and drawing in a new, diverse readership by connecting local news with their day-to-day lives. Service journalists can play a part in covering major news events in Kansas City, from Taylor Swift concerts and Super Bowl celebrations to local elections and high-profile crime, writing explainers, answering questions and helping get out the latest updates.

In this position, you’ll write frequently, channeling a news-you-can-use approach and connecting directly with readers. You should expect to pitch frequently, finding stories and questions in every corner of the community, online and in person.

If you’re excited by knowing that a large local audience read and engaged with a story you wrote, this is the job for you.

This reporter will play a key role in The Star’s efforts to connect with Gen Z and millennial residents and provide them with the information they need to build their lives in the KC area. They should be able to craft stories based on local users’ needs and interests.

Though daily journalism is the focus of the role, there is opportunity for this reporter to contribute to series or projects that fit with the team's mission. Engaging directly with readers online and potentially in person is also part of the role.

A successful candidate will bring an enthusiasm for local news in all its forms, an eagerness to learn and experiment, and strong reporting skills. Familiarity with the Kansas City audience is a plus.

You'll join a reporting team that is fun, collaborative and always looking for new ways to reach readers and tell unique stories of Kansas City. The newsroom you’ll join is deeply committed to listening to, engaging with and meeting the needs of diverse communities across the Kansas City area.

Kansas City is a vibrant, large city with a high quality of life — replete with iconic professional sports teams and a world-class arts scene – and a low cost of living. It’s a fantastic place to put down roots, and this job offers the chance to contribute to its future.

McClatchy Media’s journalists are expected to take advantage of opportunities to ethically harness and leverage artificial intelligence and other automation to enhance and elevate their work and to find efficiencies that free them to focus on source-building and high quality, deeply reported journalism.

We believe that our team is stronger when we include individuals with a variety of perspectives and experiences, and we encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply.

In this role, you’ll be expected to:

• Pitch stories that are off the beaten track and will resonate with many Kansas Citians and others from our region.
• Cover a variety of topics.
• Report and write stories quickly in user-friendly formats.
• Find questions the community is asking and figure out the answers.
• Build networks of source networks and bring in a constant flow of story ideas.
• Collaborate with other service reporters and journalists from across the newsroom on major news events and local happenings.
• Demonstrate versatility, initiative and SEO savvy.
• Work in a team environment, both virtually and in person.

What you'll bring:

• 1-3 years of reporting or writing experience.
• A college degree or work equivalent.
• Strong reporting and writing skills, as well as a demonstrated ability to see the story that is going to matter to readers.
• Flexibility and speed in writing to respond to evolving news events and user needs.
• Excellent news judgment and journalism ethics.
• A passion for utility journalism that helps readers in their daily lives.
• A track record of community engagement and audience-centered reporting.
• Willingness to do some multimedia storytelling, including recording video
• Familiarity with Google Trends, social media platforms, public records requests and data.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• A familiarity with communities in the Kansas City area.
• Familiarity with measuring and tracking success using metrics and analytics.
• A willingness to cover a variety of topics.
• A track record for innovation, learning and using new skills and technologies, especially AI.
• Must have reliable transportation. Must have valid driver’s license and vehicle insurance required (at least minimum insurance required for the state in which the employee works).

What we'll bring:

As a journalist at McClatchy, you will join a supportive, flexible, collaborative team. McClatchy strives to be an employer of choice, and our benefits package is made with this goal in mind. With a focus on health, well-being, wealth and daily life, our package options include healthcare coverage for employees and their families, financial protection from expected and unexpected expenses, multiple no-cost wellness resources and even coverage for four-legged friends.

Our overall benefits package also includes a 401(k) with employer match, competitive paid time off and corporate holidays, and a variety of mental health benefits. With an excellent support team and with focus on your well-being as a top corporate strategy, McClatchy provides benefits to support you and your family in achieving your health and wellness goals. For more information on McClatchy's benefit plan, please visit McClatchyLivewell.com.

To apply, please submit a cover letter, resume, 3-6 work samples for full consideration. References may be requested.

About the McClatchy Media Company

The McClatchy Media Company features a portfolio of vibrant and trusted news, lifestyle, entertainment brands and a robust retail distribution network. Our iconic local news brands such as the Miami Herald, The Kansas City Star and The Sacramento Bee, have collectively earned a total of 57 Pulitzer prizes and are complemented by popular lifestyle and entertainment brands such as Us Weekly and Woman’s World. Together, our brands reach more than 100 million unique visitors a month,The McClatchy Retail Network, our distribution and logistics arm, offers delivery to more than 56,000 retail locations weekly.

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Equal Opportunity Employer

This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.