Indiana Reporter, Chalkbeat

Job Description

Job Description

Location: Remote - Based in the Indianapolis area

Reports to: Indiana Bureau Chief, Chalkbeat

Type: Full-time 

Salary Range: $65,000 to $80,000, depending on location and experience

Civic News Company is leading a civic revival.

We were founded to address one of the most consequential market failures of our time: the collapse of local news. Since 2008, nearly two-thirds of U.S. newsroom jobs have disappeared, leaving communities without trusted reporting on education, elections, and public health. Our mission is simple and urgent: to help people understand how America works so they can make it work better.

Through Chalkbeat (education), Votebeat (elections), and Healthbeat (public health), we operate a national network of local news bureaus that combine deep local expertise with centralized national infrastructure. 

THE OPPORTUNITY

Civic News is seeking a Reporter to cover schools and education policy as part of the Chalkbeat Indiana team.

This is a critical moment to report about education in Indianapolis. How the city’s schools are run and governed is going through a radical transformation, with shifting power dynamics and uncertainty over how it will play out in the city’s district-run and charter schools. Changes to how school performance is measured, decisions about students’transportation to and from school, and charged debates about school closures all loom on the horizon. 

You will tell these stories, hold leaders accountable, and put the news into context for students and families. Your work will help families and leaders make decisions for stronger public understanding of the institutions and decisions that shape students' lives. You’ll also be a member of a team covering education across Indiana, including how high schools prepare students for college and career, and what access families have to vouchers and online schools. 

Capturing this story requires strong beat reporting, source development, relationship-building, and writing skills. You should enjoy a fast-paced and newsy environment and be comfortable as one of Chalkbeat’s public faces in the community and representing the organization at public events and on social media. This role includes night meeting coverage as well as the occasional evening event.

The key responsibilities for this role include:

• Report and write compelling local education stories, balancing quick-turn news coverage with enterprise and accountability journalism.

• Develop and execute longer-term reporting projects that deepen readers’ understanding of local education issues.

• Serve as a trusted guide for readers by clearly explaining how education systems, policies, and decisions affect local communities.

• Hold public officials and institutions accountable through rigorous, fair, and well-sourced reporting.

• Engage with readers and community members to identify relevant stories, questions, and areas of interest.

• Collaborate with colleagues across Chalkbeat and with external news partners on reporting and special projects, including TV, radio and panel appearances.

• Build and maintain relationships with a broad range of sources, including educators, education leaders, parents, students, and community members.

• Report stories that make an impact in the community and drive change.

What background and skills do you have? (We know not all strong candidates will have all the skills we list. That’s OK. What else do you bring to the table? Please tell us!):  The person we seek:

• 3+ years of experience in journalism.

• Excellent news judgment.

• Breaking news metabolism and decisiveness.

• Ability to produce ambitious, agenda-setting enterprise journalism.   

• Strong interpersonal skills, demonstrating empathy and understanding while being unafraid to have tough conversations when needed. 

• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• Passion for education and Chalkbeat’s mission is a must; knowledge of education is a strong plus, but not required.

Bonus points if you’ve got:

• Connections to Indianapolis.

• Data journalism experience.

• Photo and social video skills.

• Fluency in a language other than English, especially Spanish.

Civic News Values, here’s how that shows up in our work together:

• We work as one team.
  Rebuilding local news requires collaboration. We actively nurture a harmonious environment of dignity, respect, and professionalism. We assume good intent, support one another’s growth, and have a team-oriented approach to solving  problems together.

• We pursue truth with intellectual honesty.
  Our work demands rigor. We seek facts, challenge assumptions, and engage thoughtfully with perspectives different from our own. We follow the evidence wherever it leads.

• We practice inclusive journalism.