Posted On: February 16, 2021

Media-Related Job

Media Organization:Documented NY

Company Description

Documented is a nonprofit news site that produces reporting for and about immigrant New Yorkers. We provide original news stories on the ground-level impact of shifts in labor policy, law–enforcement practices and bureaucratic requirements, and on the effects of new federal directives as well as Q&As and instructional guides that inform New Yorkers about food, health and financial aid and legal issues. We have won awards from the EPPY, the Online News Association and Local Independent Online News Publishers. Our work has been mentioned by The New York Times, The Washington Post, federal lawsuits, the New York City Council and many other places.
We are dedicated to improving our newsroom, by working with people with backgrounds that reflect the population of New York City. We are committed to diversity and building an inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds and ages. We encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, LGBTQ people and people with disabilities.

Job Description

Documented is seeking a reporter to help us tell immigration stories through data.
Immigration is a data-heavy beat. Federal agencies like the Justice Department, ICE and USCIS publish data sets that are fertile ground for stories. There are also immigration stories to be found in Department of Labor data, Census Bureau data and many other sources. We want a reporter who knows how to find these data sets, how to discover stories in the numbers, and who has the skills to report them out and put a human touch to the numbers.
Some of the data sets we work with are relatively small and can fit in a single spreadsheet. Others are massive and sprawling and spill over to multiple files and tables. We need the data reporter to be able to handle both. Knowledge of Python, R or SQL is essential as is Excel. Knowledge of the immigration system is not needed, but it is helpful. Most important is a willingness to learn and enthusiasm for the subject
Documented is a small but growing team looking for someone who can help us think bigger about how to use data and how to use it to reach different audiences. Our reporting is both for and about immigrants and we have a growing body of work in Spanish that is dedicated to providing valuable information to undocumented New Yorkers. In the coming year, we will begin regularly publishing in Chinese as well. We want our data stories to appeal to those audiences as well as immigration lawyers and other professionals working in the field.
We will expect you to contribute news stories regularly while assisting on special projects. We want a teammate who is not afraid to give us feedback, make their voice heard and whom we would learn from as well. While we use data in our stories regularly, our team does not contain anyone with data expertise, so we are eager to learn from this person as much as they will learn from us. This also means this person will have to be able to complete projects with little oversight. This is also an opportunity to help develop a program for future reporters and editors.
Responsibilities include:
Expectation to publish news stories regularly. Should be able to balance long term projects with quick turnaround news stories.
Creating a data library of all the datasets they can find related to immigration and immigrants
Weekly analysis of immigration court data to find stories and trends
Collaborating with reporters on investigative and news stories
Building and maintaining databases

To Apply

Submit your application for this role here by Feb. 28: https://forms.gle/3T8HWPXud5KAvZoj8