Fresnoland is hiring another reporter to join our growing team!
Fresnoland is a nonprofit journalism startup with a mission to make policy public by, for, and with all residents of the central San Joaquin Valley through investigative, explanatory and engagement journalism.
The beat? Public contracts, government spending, and money in politics.
There’s a whole lot of money flowing through local governments right now. Hundreds of millions of dollars of pandemic relief and infrastructure investments in roads, drought resiliency, energy, housing, and community development are flowing through city councils and boards of supervisors, one contract at a time. But who is benefitting from these investments? In one of the most racially and economically segregated regions in the United States, will the investments end up reinforcing existing disparities, or could they end up creating more living-wage jobs and building a stronger middle class in the valley? Is there a relationship between who donates to elected officials, and who gets public contracts?
Your reporting will involve:
- A focus on the individuals and the communities who benefit most from public spending contracts
- An exploration of campaign finance and how that relates to who is awarded public contracts
- Data journalism and visualization that helps tell the story about how money is flowing and to whom
- Investigative and accountability reporting that follows up on concerns related to conflicts of interest and improper use of funds
- Exploring how investments in infrastructure, transportation, and social services can support economic mobility
- Answering audience-generated questions that the public has about public infrastructure spending
- Solutions reporting, exploring both local and national models to creating better jobs that improve opportunities to move to the middle class without worsening the environment
What we’ll expect from you:
- Resolute about digging through public documents, budgets, and filing public records requests
- Comfortable working with data, reading through spreadsheets, and creating data visualizations to clearly articulate a story
- Ability to write simply about complex issues
- Creative in engaging with our audience, the people you report for, and in telling stories in a variety of formats, including social media and video
- Enthusiastic about collaborating with others, both on our team and with other media organizations
What you can expect from us:
- Public service is our mission. All of your stories will be in service of that goal
- Commitment to racial and social justice
- We take the time to get the story right
- We have a hybrid set up – all of our team is based in the greater Fresno area, and comes into a physical office at least once a week to collaborate
- A creative environment to experiment and try new storytelling formats
The salary range for this position is $59,000 – $66,000 annually. We are seeking experienced reporters who know how to find a story in the mundane machinations of local government and shape it to have a significant impact in the community.
Fresnoland offers a generous benefits package, including 20 days of paid vacation, 10 sick days, 15 paid holidays, remote work and professional development stipends, full employer contribution to health benefits, and a 401k employer match.
Bilingual abilities (especially Spanish, Hmong, or Punjabi) are desirable but not required.
To apply, please send a resume, two clips, and an explanation of the impact your reporting has had in your community to https://airtable.com/shrN0yyQDSIDcUZIH.