Education reporter

Job Description

Position: Education reporter, Growing Community Media
Status: Full-time exempt
Reports to: Editor in chief
Location: Oak Park, Illinois

Please read the instructions at the end to learn how to apply.

Job Summary:

GCM, parent company of Wednesday Journal, Forest Park Review, Austin Weekly News and The Riverside-Brookfield Landmark, is an award-winning nonprofit news organization that has served our areas for about four decades. We are a recognized leader in local news, and we are committed to news that matters most to our readers.

We are at an exciting point in our history, with expansions and new sections planned.

We’re looking for a creative, courageous and curious education reporter to cover schools, students and those who teach students, as well as local education policy and what it means for the health and future of our local youth and the communities they live in. Those communities include Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park.

If that’s you, you will also be responsible for pitching original ideas and taking on some assignments from your editor. You’ll produce work in several formats: breaking news, profiles, explainers, in-depth features and investigations. 

Your education reporting will pull back the curtain on how systems of power play out in the lives of students and their families. You’ll examine the impacts of school policies and school board decisions, helping parents and students better navigate their options and providing insight into what is and isn’t working in the area’s schools. You’ll dig in on hard-hitting accountability stories, bringing together academic policy, research, data analysis, lively interviews and fluid storytelling to show the impact of policy decisions. And you’ll get to work on fun, creative features, because highlighting the personalities, craft and accomplishments of teachers and students is an important facet of education reporting. You also will be asked to integrate yourself in the education communities to cultivate sources and gain trust with students, teachers, administrators and school board members.

Reporting, writing, content creation, social media, newsletter contributions and some photography are all part of the role.

Please note this is not a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. job. Attendance at most school board meetings, which are often held at night, and other events is expected.

GCM is an equal opportunity employer:

GCM is committed to creating an equitable, diverse and inclusive workplace. We strongly encourage applications from women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people and people of different levels of physical ability. We encourage you to apply and make your case if you have skills or talents that don't quite match our description, yet you feel may still be able to perform the duties as described.

Job Requirements

Key requirements:

• The ideal candidate should have a bachelor’s degree in journalism or related field or equivalent experience. 
• We’re looking for someone with expertise in writing and who exhibits exemplary editorial judgment with a commitment to accuracy, fairness, and integrity in reporting.  
• We’re looking for someone with strong reporting skills and with about two years of experience in a newsroom and specific experience covering K-12 education preferred. However, if you have strong work samples, we will consider someone with less experience.
• You should have exceptional skills at prioritizing assignments and meeting deadlines. 
• You must be able to produce accurate, error-free content that conforms to AP Style guidelines and upholds SPJ’s Code of Ethics.
• As a writer and reporter, you should have the ability to pivot between breaking education news and short and longer-term enterprise stories, and you should have the ability to explain the complicated education challenges related to resources and governance.
• You should have a willingness to work closely with editors and other colleagues in shaping the best stories for our audience.
• You should be eager to learn the jargon and nuances of the education field.
• Please note that nighttime and some weekend work is expected.

Bonus points:

• If you have even more experience covering education, if you speak Spanish or you have a background in education.

Skills and Expectations for Teamwork GCM:

• Be able to work in a way that fits with our mission and vision to connect citizens through community journalism rooted deep in our neighborhoods, based in facts, and reflective of voices not always heard
• Be able to work with software and other tools critical to the job, including social media platforms, Google Analytics, MS Office products (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.) and virtual conferencing tools, such as Teams and, Zoom.
• Create a collegial, collaborative newsroom culture and atmosphere
• Celebrate our wins and learning moments
• Take on an experimental mindset and demonstrate flexibility to iterate on our work, systems, and processes 
• Be willing and able to ask for help when you need it
• Demonstrate an ability to learn and grow in the role

About GCM:

Growing Community Media NFP (GCM) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, independent news organization that produces four local publications online and in print across seven communities on the West Side of Chicago and in its west suburbs. GCM was founded in 2019 after it acquired established media outlets Austin Weekly News (1986), Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest (1980), Forest Park Review (1918) and Riverside Brookfield Landmark (1985) and transitioned them to a nonprofit model. Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, and suburban Oak Park, River Forest, Forest Park, North Riverside, Riverside and Brookfield are at once contiguous and very distinct communities. Each publication reports deeply from within its own community, at a granular level unavailable elsewhere in the local media landscape. GCM’s dedicated newsroom staff produces insightful hyperlocal coverage of each of our seven communities 52 weeks per year. GCM’s mission is to connect citizens through community journalism rooted deep in our neighborhoods, based in facts, and reflective of voices not always heard.

Compensation: $40,000 to $48,000, commensurate with experience. Please note that we do not pay relocation fees.

What we have to offer:

• A comprehensive benefits package that includes generous leave time, health/dental/vision coverage and 401K
• A flexible schedule.
• A hybrid workplace.
• Support for professional development and journalism or applicable affinity-group conventions.
• An opportunity to work with an industry leader and part of an esteemed brand.

To apply: 

Please send a resume, and a maximum of four (4) writing samples. In lieu of a cover letter, please send a narrative explaining your experience in covering education, and how you would approach your eduction beat for a community news organization. Please do not exceed two (2) pages. 

Please send all of the materials in a single PDF format by Oct. 25 to: erika@growingcommunitymedia.org with “Education reporter” in the subject line.

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