Investigative Researcher & Scriptwriter

Night; United States; On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Night is seeking an experienced investigative researcher and writer to identify compelling criminal cases and develop thoroughly researched stories into engaging scripts. You will obtain police, court, and government records through FOIA and public-records processes, build timelines, and prepare research packs for script-ready projects.

You will manage the research lifecycle from initial pitch to finished script, communicating with agencies, handling sensitive materials, and incorporating

Qualifications

• Professional experience in investigative journalism or documentary research.
• Experience with public-records research and legal research.
• Practical FOIA or public-records request experience.
• Strong knowledge of US federal and state records systems.
• Ability to research court dockets and government documents.
• Excellent fact-checking and source-management skills.
• Strong writing for long-form narration.
• Good editorial judgment handling sensitive material.
• Ability to work independently with clear progress updates.

Responsibilities

• Identify under-reported criminal cases with storytelling potential.
• Assess evidence, documentation, and usable visual material.
• Identify agencies and records custodians for cases.
• Draft, submit, and track FOIA/public-records requests.
• Request police reports, 911 calls, transcripts, and related records.
• Communicate with agencies to clarify requests and manage fees.
• Review exemptions/redactions and appeals when needed.
• Research court records and official statements.
• Build timelines and verify names, dates, and claims.
• Produce organized research packs with sources and media.
• Write accurate, engaging long-form scripts for narration.
• Incorporate feedback and meet deadlines.
• Flag legal, ethical, copyright, or factual concerns.

Skills

Fact-checking

Source-management

Organizational skills

Writing ability

Editorial judgment

Independent work

Communication

Job description

Public Records / True Crime

We are an established independent media company producing long-form documentary content for a large international audience. We are looking for an experienced investigative researcher and writer who can identify compelling criminal cases, obtain primary-source material and develop thoroughly researched stories into engaging scripts.

The Role:

You will be responsible for finding suitable cases and managing the research process from the initial pitch through to a completed script. A major part of the role will involve obtaining police, court and other government records through Freedom of Information and public-records legislation.

Key Responsibilities:

• Identify under-reported criminal cases with strong documentary and storytelling potential.


• Assess whether a case has sufficient reliable information, primary documentation and usable visual material.


• Identify the correct agencies and records custodians for each case.


• Draft, submit and track US federal FOIA requests, state and local public-records requests, UK FOI requests and equivalent international applications.


• Request materials such as police reports, incident records, 911 calls, dispatch logs, body-worn camera footage, interview recordings, photographs, exhibits and coroner or medical-examiner records where publicly available.


• Communicate with agencies to clarify requests, narrow searches, manage fees and follow up on delayed responses.


• Review exemptions and redactions and, where appropriate, prepare administrative appeals or internal-review requests.


• Research court records, judgments, sentencing documents, official statements, archived reporting and other credible sources.


• Build clear timelines, reconcile contradictory accounts and independently verify names, dates and factual claims.


• Produce organised research packs containing source links, citations, documents and relevant media.


• Write accurate, engaging long-form scripts designed for spoken narration.


• Incorporate editorial feedback and deliver work reliably to agreed deadlines.


• Flag potential legal, ethical, copyright or factual concerns before publication.

What We’re Looking For:

• Professional experience in investigative journalism, documentary research, public-records research, legal research or a closely related field.


• Practical experience submitting and managing FOIA or other freedom-of-information/public-records requests.


• Strong knowledge of US federal and state public-records systems. Familiarity with UK, Australian or other international systems would be advantageous.


• Confidence researching court dockets and interpreting police, court and government documents.


• Excellent fact-checking, source-management and organisational skills.


• The persistence to follow records requests over several weeks or months.


• Strong writing ability, particularly conversational long-form writing intended to be read aloud.


• Good editorial judgment when handling victims, allegations, graphic material and incomplete information.


• The ability to work independently while communicating clearly about progress, delays and potential problems.