Posted On: January 14, 2021

Journalism Job

Media Organization: Race Forward

Company Description

Race Forward's mission is to catalyze movement building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we build strategies to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture. Race Forward imagines a just, multiracial democratic society free from oppression and exploitation, in which people of color thrive with power and purpose.

Since 1981, Race Forward has brought a systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. In 2017 Race Forward united with the Center for Social Inclusion to become the new Race Forward.

Job Description

Title: Colorlines Staff Writer/Blogger
Reports to: Senior Editorial Director
FLSA Status: Exempt
Salary Range: $76,500-81,600
Location: Remote
Tentative Start Date: March 8, 2021

Important Notes:
• This position is a 1-year, time-limited role.
• This position will close to applications on January 27, 2021.

Position Summary

The staff writer/blogger creates generalized (i.e., more than one beat) in-house content for Colorlines. This role covers multiple areas for our daily news site--from pop culture to stories on health disparities to other pressing issues facing communities of color--and is focused on writing content that resonates with Colorlines readers. A large part of this role is focused on bringing a racial justice analysis to the news cycle.

The staff writer will be responsible for crafting timely pitches and thoughtfully exploring unique and compelling angles that speak to racial justice and equity.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Ongoing monitoring of news, including pop- and high-culture film, music, trending items, TV, as well as staying abreast of “hard” news around criminal justice, health and politics. The Reporter-Blogger will also pay special attention to LGBTQ+ stories and issues, as well as a special emphasis on Indigenous news;
• Producing and publishing at least two blog posts daily, always with an eye on a racial justice and LGBTQ+ issues (or any intersection thereof);
• Developing relationships with publicists and other representatives with the goal of producing timely, occasionally embargoed or exclusive coverage;
• Actively participating in weekly Editorial Meetings;
• Pitching and producing timely longer-form features, including multimedia features as appropriate. Volume of feature writing will vary with workload and editorial strategy;
• Working with design team to provide reporting and ideas for graphic and multimedia features;
• May be called on to represent Colorlines on various social media platforms;
• Representing Colorlines and/or Race Forward through media and public appearances as necessary, in coordination with the RF Communications team and as assigned/approved by Sr. Editorial Director;
• Participating in Race Forward’s organizational planning and development including attending monthly all-staff meetings.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

To perform successfully in this role, incumbent should possess skills identified below:
• Ability to turn around tight, clean copy, whether writing short or long;
• Responsiveness to the news cycle; can follow and report on a big, ongoing story (i.e., Breonna Taylor, COVID health disparities, Flint Water Crisis, Dakota Pipeline), and bring new analysis and reporting to it;
• Working familiarity with AP Style, style guides
• Superior news judgement, especially as it relates to race and racial justice;
• Ability to effectively analyze why a story is important in both a historical and forward-facing context;
• Hands-on experience with a Content Management System such as Drupal;
• The ability to work well both independently and as part of a team, and to juggle multiple simultaneous projects with varying lead times;
• Ability to meet agreed upon deadlines;
• Demonstrates understanding and commitment to racial justice and intersecting issues;
• Some copyediting and research skills;
• Commitment to fairness, accuracy and journalistic ethics;
• Ability to operate within a small, remote and self-directed team;
• Ability to absorb and synthesize information quickly;
• Proactive, self-directed, and able to prioritize and multitask effectively;
• Creative thinker with ideas for innovative and compelling ways to convey Colorlines’ ethos and mission
• The ability to effectively report to people of color, particularly those who are women, femmes, trans and/or nonbinary.

Qualifications and Experience

• A bachelor's degree from a four-year journalism or related program or a minimum 3 years as a generalist or beat writer or blogger
• Experience working with a remote team is a plus

Additional Information

This position requires long periods of time at a desk on a computer and may require time outside of normal business hours. Willing and able to travel up to 5-10% of time as necessary based on need.

 

EEO Statement

Race Forward provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

To Apply

Please click the link below to apply for this position. Please be sure to include a cover letter and resume.

https://raceforward.isolvedhire.com/jobs/222583.html