Education Reporter

Job Description

Do you have a passion for education reporting and the chops to build a beat around it? We want to hear from you.

WPLN News needs a reporter who excels at answering pressing questions during a pivotal time in Tennessee education. Rising housing costs are pushing more families into suburban and rural school districts; a wide achievement gap persists along racial and economic lines; and the state is in the middle of an intense debate over school vouchers.

In higher education, Nashville is known as "Athens of the South" for its many institutions of higher learning, including four historically Black colleges and universities, other nationally ranked schools such as Vanderbilt University, and more than a dozen public and private four-year and two-year institutions

Amid the swirl of educational philosophies in a Southern state, your reporting will have a real impact. You’ll help shape the conversation around public policy, gain regional and national attention with your reporting, and help our audience better understand the systems of power that govern and fund education in our region.

What would you be doing?
Here are the job responsibilities for a beat reporter at WPLN News:

• Work 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, with nights and weekends as necessary.
• Produce 2-3 originally reported stories each week, a mix of short-term and long-term.
• Incorporate advanced reporting and storytelling techniques (such as record requests, complex scene-building, vivid writing and nontraditional story forms)
• Track education bills and provide timely updates with context during the legislative session.
• Demonstrate a deep knowledge of the region in context and analysis
• Appear on and provide reporting assets for our daily show, This Is Nashville, as requested.
• Communicate proactively in daily news meetings and with other reporters on stories that overlap with your expertise.
• Pitch enterprising stories proactively and build sourcing to support this work.
• Participate in the weekend reporting rotation.
• Be available to cover breaking news and scheduled special coverage as needed.
• Represent the station in fundraising activities and station events.
• Help foster a positive workplace culture.

Community Engagement
Participates in community engagement, especially with the goal of elevating the lived experiences of BIPOC and other underserved communities. This includes, but is not limited to, developing ongoing relationships with sources, speaking to community groups and classes. or regularly taking part in formal newsroom partnerships.

What’s WPLN News?
WPLN News is Middle Tennessee’s NPR station. As a nonprofit newsroom, our reporting is nuanced, fact based and — most importantly — community driven.

We focus on the big picture, revealing systemic issues and the fight of people working to fix them. By connecting the dots, we contextualize the news of the day and empower the community to get involved. Our reporters question people and institutions in power and elevate the voices of people most impacted. Our newsroom recognizes that journalists come to the table with their own experiences and perspectives, and we treat that as a strength rather than a weakness. We aim to build trust and respect among colleagues so that we can have difficult conversations about both our work and workplace.

Our newsroom helps journalists realize their potential on the job, while also giving them space to live a full life outside of it. We strive to perform at the highest level: In recent years, our newsroom has received a Peabody, a National Murrow Award and a Pulitzer finalist nod, as well as the Daniel Schorr Prize for the best public media journalist under 35.

Job Requirements

How does the application process work?
To apply, please click the link below, complete the application and upload the following to by November 30, 2024.
https://nashvilleradio.clearcompany.com/careers/jobs/5a0637e2-944c-7b3d-9e55-958998b5d2b6/apply?source=3191849-CS-51721

• Cover letter. Please explain how you would focus your education beat at WPLN News. Submit it as a PDF.
• Clips. Please upload 4 examples of your reporting work, including one short-term, on-deadline story. These do not have to be audio examples.
• Resume. Please keep it to one page, and submit it as a PDF. (No need to include your references on this — we’ll ask you for those later if you make it to the finalist round.)

Our search committee will evaluate those materials on the following criteria:

• Beat-building. Education is a broad beat, and one reporter can’t cover it all. Can you identify how you’d focus your coverage and what your priorities would be?
• Reporting. Specifically, how well can you break down complicated policies and show how they affect everyday people?
• Writing. You don’t need radio experience, but can you write in a way that could translate well to radio — using scene, descriptive writing, anecdotes, etc.?
• Commitment to equity. Do you seek out thoughtful stories about groups that are typically underrepresented in media and politics? How?
• Ability to balance short- and long-term stories. As a beat reporter, you’ll produce a few stories a week. Do you have experience with this kind of pace? Can you tell short stories with enterprising angles and sharp context?
• Planning. Can you identify key moments and events to build coverage around, communicating with your editors along the way?

After rating each application, our search committee will choose a set of finalists to interview. Finalists may be asked to complete a brief reporting exercise. If you do not make it to the finalist round, we will alert you by email as promptly as possible. (No ghosting here.)

Physical Demands
The employee in this position is frequently standing, walking, or sitting; using hands to finger, handle, or feel; reaching with hands and arms, and talking or hearing.

Lifts Weight or Exerts Force Work Environment
The employee in this position may regularly lift up to 20 pounds.

Vision
Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus. Tennessee

Salary
$59,000 per year, negotiable based on experience. Seven years of journalism experience preferred, but not required.

About Nashville Public Radio
Nashville Public Radio serves Middle Tennessee by providing trusted in-depth news, engaging music, and unique cultural programs on 90.3 FM WPLN News, WNXP, Nashville Classical Radio, and our various digital platforms. For more than 60 years, listeners have turned to this community supported service for programming that inspires conversation and curiosity, educates, and entertains. Our values are

• To operate the station at the highest level of professional standards and integrity.
• To be responsive to our listeners, members, supporters, and public.
• To exhibit mutual respect for our peers and audience.
• To value the member and community support that our station receives.
• To work together in an environment that encourages participation and sharing of the decisions that affect the station and our listeners.

Nashville Public Radio is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusivity in our hiring. Nashville Public Radio is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or status as a protected veteran. As part of this commitment, we will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations.

Nashville Public Radio offers a generous benefit package including medical, vision, and dental insurance; and a robust Employee Assistance Program inclusive of six free sessions of counseling each year and basic legal assistance. Long-term disability and life insurance are provided at no cost to employees. We also have up to 40 days of paid parental or medical leave, inclusive for adoptive and/or foster parents.
In addition to these benefits, employees receive vacation and sick leave, access to a 401(k) plan with employer matching, and 13 paid holidays, 2 of which are floating to employee preference.

The job profile is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change, and/or new ones may be assigned at any time with or without notice.
 

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