Epicenter-NYC is seeking a highly motivated and passionate full-time community reporter to join our team. In this role, you will play a vital role in providing accessible and actionable information to neighbors and communities around New York City and reporting stories in multiple formats that highlight the fabric of diverse neighborhoods.
Job description:
The reporter will be required to regularly engage with communities in need of support, both in-person and digitally, to better understand and address their challenges through information. Examples of such include, but are not limited to, food insecurity, housing and labor. Other coverage areas include immigration, criminal justice and transit, small businesses and entrepreneurship, education and climate, arts and culture. The subjects you will write about are wide-ranging even as we are singularly focused to a community lens and engagement on them.
Leveraging the information gathered, the reporter will collaborate with the Epicenter team to inform the development of products including featured stories, video explainers, flyers, podcasts, text message campaigns, social media content, events and more. The goal is to meet people where they are, both physically (in their neighborhoods and preferred locations) and metaphorically (in their preferred languages and method of communication).
Want to work with us? Read on!
Responsibilities:
- Source, report and produce at least two stories per week found in the communities of NYC. These stories will contain at least one multimedia component (i.e. video, audio, photos).
- Assist with writing the newsletter (i.e. out & about, give & get help items).
- Produce one to two digital short videos weekly summarizing Epicenter stories.
- Pitch ideas and co-host Epicenter’s weekly podcast.
- Summarize and amplify findings for social media engagement, through text (Twitter & Facebook) and video (TikTok & Instagram).
- Assess the needs of our communities and ensure content reflects these priorities.
- Collaborate with our cross-functional team to gauge community needs and help inform the deployment of alternate outreach methods, such as distributing printed materials.
About You/Qualifications:
Required
- At least two years of experience pitching, writing and reporting stories.
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to effectively engage with diverse communities.
- Knowledge and understanding of New York City in areas such as food insecurity, housing, labor, immigration, small businesses, criminal justice, and transit.
- Knowledgeable of and active on social media platforms to amplify stories in multiple formats.
Preferred/Highly desired
- Deadline-oriented, with a focus on community-based reporting being a plus.
- A genuine passion for community engagement and a strong desire to make a positive impact on the lives of New Yorkers.
- Ability to adapt and think creatively to develop innovative and engaging content for various mediums.
- Fluency in multiple languages, particularly those commonly spoken in diverse communities in New York City.
- Social media video editing and comfortable doing face-to-cam videos.
- Not afraid to experiment and try old and new tactics building and engaging the community. We are interested in creating a new and innovative journalism model, not copying old, institutional or predominantly white ones.
Commitment to community — in all its forms is of utmost importance. We are compassionate, quirky, purposeful, and deeply invested in the success of our team members in their roles and career growth. We strive to embrace people as they are rather than expect you to change yourself to fit our mission. Importantly, if you meet some but not all of the above criteria, please apply anyway. We are looking for someone who can uplift our workplace.
To apply, send your cv along with a memo on how you’d approach the job to jobs@epicenter-nyc.com
Compensation and Benefits:
The salary for this role is $55,000 — $75,000 based on experience, plus benefits and paid time off.
About Us:
Founded in 2020, Epicenter-NYC is a community journalism multiplatform initiative that started as a newsletter to connect neighbors during the height of the pandemic. Epicenter is a mix of news, information, and crowdsourced answers. As the world becomes increasingly digitally connected and divided, Epicenter engages, connects, and informs people IRL and digitally through the power of culture and community. Epicenter represents diverse audiences because we ARE these audiences.