Communities Reporter, South Dallas County

COMMUNITIES REPORTER, SOUTH DALLAS COUNTY

 

KERA, the public media company of North Texas, is seeking an enterprising and ambitious Communities Reporter – South Dallas County to join the KERA News team.

WHO WE ARE:  
Serving the country’s fourth-largest media market, KERA reaches more than 5 million people monthly through KERA TV , KERA News , KXT , WRR and The Denton Record-Chronicle as well through national shows Think and From the Top . For more than 65 years, North Texans have turned to KERA as a destination for community engagement and lifelong learning.

As we seek to recognize and reflect our audience and communities, we encourage applicants from all backgrounds and points of view to consider employment opportunities at KERA.

POSITION SUMMARY:
The Communities Reporter, South Dallas County is a full-time position that is part of KERA’s growing newsroom.

North Texas is a business-centric hub home to a booming population. The Communities Reporter will cover news, developments and trends in the suburbs and diverse communities across southern Dallas County.

The ideal candidate is a thoughtful and experienced reporter with a passion for elevating people’s voices. This person must balance policy knowledge with human-centered reporting mindful of equity issues as they report on challenges, progress and solutions in our suburban communities.

We’re looking for a strong audio and digital reporter who’s comfortable going live on the radio. The person in this role must be versatile, productive and resilient, with an ability to write, voice and produce quick-turn daily stories as well as dive into bigger-picture feature reporting — all while remaining firmly rooted in the ethics and standards of public media. We expect this person to write with depth and nuance about complex community issues that have a real impact in South Dallas County and the wider region.

This is a great opportunity for a reporter with stellar ideas and strong journalistic experience. The South Dallas County Communities reporter will write and produce everything from daily news spots to in-depth features on all KERA’s platforms: radio, video, social media and keranews.org. KERA leads The Texas Newsroom -- a regional news hub of public radio stations across the state and NPR -- so the reporter’s stories will air locally, statewide and often nationally. This position is classified as FLSA non-exempt, is eligible for overtime and reports to the Specialty Beats Editor.

WHAT YOU'LL DO: 

• Tell stories about communities around South Dallas County through the people who live there. 
• Create engaging multimedia stories from interviews, research, data and analysis. Find creative ways to report on issues that touch everyone. The goal: High impact with deep substance. 
• Stay on top of major news, identify trends, and develop deep knowledge of policies and how they affect local communities. 
• Build and maintain a community around the beat, including industry leaders, elected officials, experts, researchers, and community members. – There will be an emphasis on community engagement and on-the-ground reporting. 
• Produce a mix of daily news and enterprise and investigative stories. 
• Fill in on newscasts as needed. 
• Work collaboratively as part of KERA’s team and with partners across the state to build expertise, contribute compelling story ideas and experiment with innovative storytelling techniques. 
• Cover breaking news in North Texas and beyond, sometimes outside the scope of the beat. This includes a rotating on-call schedule and work outside the standard 9-5 business hours.  
• Develop distinctive audio and digital stories focused on the KERA listening area, with statewide and national context and impact. 
• Actively participate in KERA fundraising campaigns. 

 
As a KERA employee:  

• Work in a manner that is consistent with KERA’s mission, vision and values; and maintain compliance with all company policies and procedures  
• Perform additional duties as assigned

 
This list of job duties is not exhaustive and is subject to regular reviews and updates

WHAT WILL MAKE YOU SUCCESSFUL:
We believe a strong organization includes employees from a range of backgrounds, with different skills, experiences, and passions. If you don't meet every job qualification but have some of these skills and think you’re the right person for the job, we'd like to hear from you. Please apply and tell us more about yourself.

• 3 or more years of professional journalism experience
• Passion for community/solutions journalism
• Strong audio reporting and production skills, and solid news writing skills
• Ability to generate dynamic, creative story ideas
• Ability to shift journalistic modes quickly, from deadline reporting to deep investigative work
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity in reporting and sourcing
• Knowledge of Associated Press style, ability to exercise sound news judgment and follow KERA/NPR ethics and editorial standards
• Ability to conduct newscasts
• Passionate and enthusiastic about public media journalism and serving a diverse North Texas audience
• Reliable transportation required for assignments/activities that involve work outside of the office 

BONUS IF YOU BRING:

• Expertise in community reporting, particularly focused on disparities in underserved communities
• Public radio production experience 
• Knowledge of North Texas people, cultures, issues and geography as well as national and international issues and events 
• Fluency in Spanish and/or other languages common in Texas 
• Experience with one or more of the following: multimedia production, particularly photography or video; working with WordPress; familiarity with audio production and the Adobe Suite 

SALARY RANGE
$60,000 - $70,000 annually, depending on experience

BENEFITS

• Generous vacation (3 weeks), sick (8 days), personal time (2 days) and holidays (11)
• Comprehensive health, dental and vision insurance
• KERA-paid short and long-term disability, basic life insurance and AD&D insurance
• Flexible scheduling and hybrid work environment
• 401k plan with KERA-contribution after 6 months
• Robust employee assistance program available to the employee and all members of their household
• Strong company culture focused on connection, belonging and professional growth

 
LOCATION:
We expect that this position will work out of our Dallas office at least 40% of the time. (Equivalent to 16 hours per week)

Time in office requirements are subject to change based on the needs of KERA and/or the position.

HOW TO APPLY:

• Complete the application on KERA’s employment page.
• Add an optional cover letter indicating why you’re excited about joining the KERA team.

APPLICATION TIMELINE:
We generally close roles 2-4 weeks after posting. The hiring process may continue for several weeks after the closing of the role depending on the number of applicants.

KERA is an Equal Opportunity Employer
KERA believes that diversity is important to our success. We are committed to equal employment opportunity and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, religion, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by law.