Investigative Courts & Justice Reporter

Mississippi Today; Jackson (MS); On-site; USD 54,000 - 66,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary starting at $60,000

29 days paid time off per year

Parental family leave up to 12 weeks

Simple IRA with 3% company matching

Life insurance $15,000

Professional training support

Job summary

Mississippi Today, a Pulitzer Prize‑winning newsroom focused on investigative and accountability journalism, is expanding its reporting on the state judicial system with a dedicated Courts and Justice Reporter. This role covers state and federal courts, examining how decisions affect communities, and it emphasizes collaboration across the newsroom in criminal justice, politics and government.

The reporter will conduct in-depth interviews, file public records requests, analyze data, and stay with

Qualifications

• Experience working as a reporter in a newsroom, preferably at least four years, with accountability journalism experience.
• Proficiency in public records requests.
• Proficiency with backgrounding people, conducting sensitive interviews, and maintaining ethical standards.
• Proficiency with PACER and databases and the ability to use OSINT tools.
• Experience writing both shortform and longform stories.
• Ability to work quickly, with accuracy and good news judgment under tight deadlines.
• Ability to work in multimedia journalism.
• Ability to use social media for research and to engage readers.

Responsibilities

• Undertake advanced reporting to uncover systemic issues within the judicial system and institutions.
• Collaborate across the newsroom on government, courts and impact of legislation.
• Conduct in-depth interviews, file public records requests, analyze data and tell accountability stories.
• Cover state and federal courts and examine how court decisions affect communities.
• Develop quick-turn daily stories and long-term narrative, analytical and feature stories.

Skills

Public records requests

Interviewing

Ethical standards

Multimedia journalism

Social media research

Data interpretation

Tools

PACER

Databases

OSINT tools

Job description

Mississippi Today, a Pulitzer Prize‑winning newsroom focused on investigative and accountability journalism, is expanding its reporting on the state judicial system with a dedicated Courts and Justice Reporter. This role covers state and federal courts, examining how decisions affect communities, and it emphasizes collaboration across the newsroom in criminal justice, politics and government.

The reporter will conduct in-depth interviews, file public records requests, analyze data, and stay with