Accountability Reporter
The Idaho Statesman is seeking an aggressive journalist who will deliver exclusive accountability work when it comes to Idaho politics and beyond.
Our investigative team seeks to tell stories that make a difference to people in Idaho, holding those in power to account. This reporter will join the watchdog team, focusing on Idaho's state government and congressional politics. This reporter will also offer analysis and perspective about who we are now, and as one of the fastest growing states in the nation, where we are going in the future. Idaho is changing, and we have an opportunity to inform and educate Idahoans new and old about how these changes will affect their daily lives.
In the last year we’ve published stories about a governor-sponsored scholarship program that spends three times more money to put on the event than it does doling out money for students, blew the lid off of Idaho's Oil and Gas commissioner owning stock in Idaho's only oil and gas company (he resigned after our reporting) and did a months-long investigation into how the University of Idaho's athletic director violated Title IX when he mishandled sex harassment claims from multiple student athletes (he was fired after our reporting).
At The Idaho Statesman, we have an unwavering commitment and reputation for holding officials accountable and to telling stories that make a difference. We’re looking for a reporter who is passionate about doing the same.
The accountability reporter will have a demonstrated commitment to fairness and accuracy, in fact and in tone, and a strong grounding in journalism ethics. An understanding of Idaho open records law and how to best use it is preferred
Like all journalists at The Statesman, this reporter must have demonstrated the desire and skills to build audience loyalty, engagement and growth around compelling public service journalism.
The reader comes first, last and always at The Statesman. Serving readers in a crowded media marketplace means becoming the best and most relevant source of journalism that matters to them -- and ensuring that our work reaches them, wherever they are. This will require a keen understanding of what’s important to local readers, developed through reporting on and familiarity with the region as well as a thorough understanding of the metrics that drive audience growth.
Minimum requirements:
- At least two years of reporting experience, with demonstrated success in accountability or watchdog work
- Strong writing and reporting skills and excellent news judgment
- Unwavering commitment to accurate, ethical journalism
- Demonstrated ability to use social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to reach audiences
- Fluency in the science of readership and engagement, including an understanding of how to use analytics such as page views, time on site, referral sources and “shares and likes” to help determine which stories resonate with which audiences
- A demonstrated ability to tell stories using a variety of tools and platforms, including video
- A demonstrated ability to learn new skills and technologies, including content management systems; social media platforms; video editing software; Omniture, CrowdTangle and other analytics tools; and any emerging storytelling tools and platforms
- Strong interpersonal skills, including empathy and the ability to take and give constructive criticism. The new workflows require constant conversations between reporters and editors and between reporters and their audience as a story evolves.
- Demonstrated ability to work comfortably in a job that will be fast-paced, data-driven, shaped constantly by feedback and experimentation and always evolving