Local Government Beat Reporter

Westaustinchamber; Pflugerville (TX); On-site; USD 41,000 - 51,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Mileage reimbursement: $135 monthly

Paid time off: 112 hours annually

Paid holidays: 10 per year + birthday

Medical, Dental, Vision, and Employer‑

Employer-Paid Life Insurance

Supplemental insurance options (Accd/3

Job summary

Community Impact is seeking a Government Reporter to cover West Lake, Lake Travis, Rollingwood and surrounding areas from our Pflugerville, TX office. The role requires producing timely local government coverage, with strong AP style and sourcing skills.

Ideal candidates will write about elections, public policy, and ballot measures, and will use data visualization to enrich stories. Availability on weekdays with flexibility for evenings and weekends is required for beating deadlines.

Qualifications

• Proficient in AP style and newsroom standards.
• Comfortable using content management systems to publish and organize stories.
• Able to visualize data to accompany reporting.
• Skilled in interviewing and sourcing information from various stakeholders.
• Capable of building and maintaining relationships with sources.
• Able to pitch and develop own story ideas with minimal supervision.
• Must meet deadlines and manage time effectively.
• Willing to work evenings and weekends to cover meetings and breaking news.

Responsibilities

• Cover local government meetings and policy beats.
• Produce approximately 10 stories per week.
• Attend meetings, interview officials, and verify information.
• Draft clear, concise reports with visuals when appropriate.
• Communicate with editors and collaborate on story ideas.

Skills

AP Style

Content Management Systems

Data Visualization

Interviewing Sources

Source Relationships

Story Pitching

Deadline Management

Time Management

Evening/Weekend Coverage

News Reporting

Education

Journalism or Communications degree (preferred)

Tools

CMS (Content Management System)

Job description

Community Impact is seeking a Government Reporter to cover West Lake, Lake Travis, Rollingwood and surrounding areas from our Pflugerville, TX office. The role requires producing timely local government coverage, with strong AP style and sourcing skills.

Ideal candidates will write about elections, public policy, and ballot measures, and will use data visualization to enrich stories. Availability on weekdays with flexibility for evenings and weekends is required for beating deadlines.