WFYI Public Media Job Description

WFYI is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer and is now accepting applications for:

Job Title: Education Reporter - Daily

Classification: Full-time (three-year grant funded position)

Salary: Commensurate with experience

Position:  WFYI Public Media is seeking a resourceful journalist to cover daily K-12 education news of Indiananpolis and across Indiana. This person will focus on  the state’s largest school corporation, Indianapolis Public Schools, 10 other school districts in the county, the large charter school sector, the politically entwined ed reform movement, and how state education policy affects Central Indiana. 

All WFYI journalism initiatives investigate the intersections of people and policy. You will be part of a new six-person education team focused on systemic inequities in public education and the approaches to addressing it. 

This is a daily beat, meaning you’ll produce regular spots for radio, write expanded articles for WFYI.org and chase down breaking stories. Additionally, you will produce two-way broadcast interviews to explain complex issues and report sound rich audio features that take listeners into the classroom and the lives of students and teachers. Your expertise and curiosity will be a driving factor in the coverage.

WFYI is Central Indiana’s leading non-commercial media outlet and its NPR and PBS station. It has founded, supported and worked with award-winning local, statewide, regional and national journalism and audience engagement initiatives. You will work with 35 reporters, editors and engagement specialists, including WFYI’s health journalism initiative Side Effects Public Media and the statewide collaboration Indiana Public Broadcasting.

Major Responsibilities:

• Value, contribute to and sustain WFYI’s commitment to a culture of belonging that sees our culture’s history of power and privilege and seeks to balance that with the inclusion of many diverse experiences and perspectives.

• Work quickly and efficiently under deadline pressure. Must be able to report breaking stories.

• Closely follow Indianapolis Public Schools and other Marion County school corporations and charter schools, maintain a rapport with district leaders, attend school board meetings and develop enterprising and unreported stories.

• Cultivate expertise in education policy and issues to generate ideas for high impact stories, including meeting with sources, background research, submitting public records requests, and other investigative functions.

• Integrate audience interaction with reporting by working with the education team’s community engagement specialist.

• Partner and coordinate with Indiana Public Broadcasting’s education policy reporter on coverage and multi-platform projects. 

• Schedule flexibility (some evening, weekend and holiday work). 

Qualifications:

• Good natured, ambitious and ready to build a new education journalism initiative.

• 2+ years reporting experience preferred. 

• Familiarity with NPR and other public media journalism.

• Excellent communication skills and ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and work under deadline pressure. 

• Multiplatform experience including writing and AP Style, shooting video, taking photos, posting to social media and on content management systems. 

If this sounds like the place and position for you, please apply at https://www.wfyi.org/wfyi-careers