State Legislature and Accountability Reporter (Baltimore)

The Baltimore Sun is looking for an enterprising reporter to cover Maryland’s General Assembly and examine how state government decisions affect taxpayers, public services, businesses and communities.

This is a government beat built around a fundamental question: Who shapes Maryland’s laws and spending decisions, who benefits and do those decisions deliver what officials promise?

The reporter will cover legislative action, state budgets, elections and the work of the governor and state agencies as it intersects with the legislature. Enterprise and accountability reporting will be central to the assignment, during the legislative session and throughout the year.

The reporter will explain consequential proposals before they become law, scrutinize how decisions are made and follow what happens afterward: whether laws are implemented, programs work, spending produces results and officials fulfill their commitments.

Strong coverage will connect decisions in Annapolis to the people who live with their consequences. The reporter will build sources inside and outside government, challenge official claims with independent reporting and use records and data to identify problems, explain why they persist and establish who is responsible.

The reporter will pursue stories involving:

• Laws and their consequences: Significant legislation, the interests shaping it and its effects on Maryland residents, employers and public institutions.
• Taxes, fees and state spending: Who pays, who benefits, how budget choices affect services and whether public spending achieves its stated purpose.
• Power and influence: Legislative leadership, lobbying, campaign contributions, conflicts of interest and the relationships that shape public decisions.
• Promises versus results: Whether enacted laws, funded initiatives and policy commitments produce the outcomes officials promised.
• Government oversight: How lawmakers respond to audits, agency failures, waste and documented problems — and whether their actions lead to improvement.
• State and local responsibilities: Policies that shift costs or obligations to counties, municipalities, schools, businesses or residents.
• Elections and public commitments: Candidates’ records, policy proposals and financial backing, with continued scrutiny of their commitments after taking office.

How this reporter will work

The reporter will be expected to break news and cover important daily developments while maintaining a pipeline of original enterprise stories, quick-turn accountability reporting and deeper investigations. Meeting coverage and official announcements should generate further reporting that establishes significance, tests claims and uncovers consequences.

The reporter will:

• Develop original story ideas consistently and pursue them without waiting for an announcement or assignment.
• Build sources among lawmakers, legislative staff, agency employees, lobbyists, watchdogs, researchers and people affected by state policy.
• Regularly file and track Maryland Public Information Act requests and use public records as a routine reporting tool.
• Examine legislation, amendments, fiscal notes, budgets, audits, contracts, campaign finance disclosures and lobbying records.
• Follow public money from authorization through expenditure and outcome.
• Track significant laws and commitments beyond passage, including implementation deadlines, enforcement, costs and results.
• Ask specific, documented questions of responsible officials, persist when answers are incomplete and clearly explain consequential unanswered questions to readers.
• Write clear, accessible stories that explain what decisions mean for readers and distinguish proposals, political claims and established facts.
• Take photographs and record video as a routine part of reporting, including interviews, events and scenes that help explain a story. Photo and video are required responsibilities of this position.
• Provide accurate captions and identifying information, produce usable visuals on deadline and collaborate with the visuals and audience teams on presentation.
• Coordinate with other reporters to connect statewide decisions to local consequences.
• Communicate clearly with editors about story plans, findings, obstacles and deadlines.

What success looks like

Success means authoritative coverage of the legislature alongside a steady flow of journalism that reveals something readers did not already know: spending that has escaped scrutiny, interests influencing legislation, promises unmet, laws that fail in practice or problems officials have left unresolved.

The strongest stories will answer what is changing, who benefits, who bears the cost, whether the policy works and who is responsible for the results.

Education and Experience Requirements:

• 3+ years of reporting experience at a daily news organization
• Excellent news judgment and understanding of journalistic ethics
• Exhibit outstanding communication skills, demonstrate initiative and exercise good news judgment.
• Capable of managing daily, short-term and long-term assignments simultaneously.

Salary Range: $50,000 – $80,000

Individual compensation may vary from the target range based on several factors, including experience, internal pay equity, and other relevant business considerations.

We Want to See Your Reporting in Action!

Share up to five examples that showcase your reporting skills. This can include video or social content or other reporting that demonstrates your impact. Materials can be sent to View email address on apply.placed-app.com