• Position is based at IPB partner station WFIU/WTIU in Bloomington, IN
• Grant-funded position

Indiana Public Broadcasting News is a thriving statewide collaboration of NPR and PBS newsrooms across Indiana. We believe people with greater access to trusted, timely and relevant information build stronger communities. Our next statewide education reporter will lead our education coverage with a primary focus on K-12 and education policy at the Statehouse. You’ll help families, students and teachers understand the many ways education policy affects their lives with stories that prioritize equity, accountability and solutions.

Position Purpose:

We’re looking for an inclusive and collaborative journalist who’s excited to own an important beat through daily and enterprise reporting, eager to build relationships with the many diverse communities across Indiana and energized by working closely with a highly collaborative statewide team focused on finding the human stories at the heart of policy decisions. Indiana is home to more than a million students in public schools spread across urban, suburban and rural areas. Currently, the state is facing a drop in literacy among young students, its lowest college going rate in a generation and a persistent achievement gap between students of color and their white classmates. You’ll use research, data, community engagement and deep sourcing to tell stories for statewide and national audiences, including NPR and PBS. You will also work closely with and have the full support of a dedicated editor, digital editor and engagement manager throughout your reporting process.

• Contribute to a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, valuing, and respecting the many experiences and perspectives across our team, stations, and communities
• Build expertise on the education beat, get to know the communities in Indiana, actively participate in engagement efforts, commit to diversity in sources and coverage
• Report and produce daily news stories and feature stories on deadline for radio, television and digital that are timely and relevant, add context, and include voices and perspectives that represent the wide variety of communities across Indiana
• Write and produce high-quality digital stories and take photos for web and social, appropriate for distribution to IPB News partners. Build online posts using the NPR content management system. Contribute ideas for interactive graphics and web videos and collaborate to produce them
• Participate fully in the IPB News engagement process as one way of identifying relevant ideas, topics and sources, including listening sessions, community conversations and other events. Provide input on community engagement strategies to Community Engagement Manager and Digital Editor
• Report complex stories quickly; bring complicated ideas to air with limited direction from editor
• Collaborate daily and work closely with the 13-person statewide IPB News team, contributing to editorial meetings and working collaboratively to conceive and execute stories and series to expand coverage and reduce duplication
• Actively report through social media and engage audiences through social media channels
• Contribute to live events and live or taped talk shows and other audio programs, podcasts and video segments
• Other duties as assigned

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE

Required

• High School Diploma

Preferred

• Knowledge of education and education policy
• Knowledge and experience doing work in a radio and/or tv setting
• Ability to speak Spanish

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.

• One year of journalism experience or equivalent training or coursework with strong writing, reporting and interviewing skills
• Proven ability to identify and originate stories that are relevant to diverse communities, report accurately and quickly, and meet deadlines.
• Ability to produce – or quickly learn to produce – video news content
• Ability to excel in a collaborative team environment with a high level of personal motivation
• Ability to produce compelling storytelling and originality in writing

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those an individual must meet to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

• Ability to move in and between various facilities and handle exposure to inclement weather
• Must be able to lift, carry and position 25+ pounds at times