Local Politics Reporter

Cloud Theory; Woodbridge Township (NJ); Hybrid; USD 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay & benefits

Healthcare plans

Generous PTO

401(k) plan

Job summary

NJ Advance Media is seeking an experienced Local Politics Reporter to cover politics, conflict, and power struggles in New Jersey's towns, school districts, and government agencies — the stories that fracture communities and hit closest to home.

The Local Politics Reporter will zero in on school board fights, town hall power struggles, and statehouse issues when they affect residents and their wallets, delivering sharp writing and engaging storytelling across platforms including social video and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in journalism, communications, or related field.
• Minimum five years in journalism with reporting and writing experience, preferably including investigations.
• Strong understanding of newswriting, journalistic ethics, and story structure.
• Clear and engaging writing style.
• Ability to cultivate sources in government, advocacy groups, and educational circles.
• Ability to engage audiences on high-value topics with frequency and urgency.
• Experience building and maintaining an active audience across platforms.

Responsibilities

• Cover politics, conflicts, and power in NJ towns, school districts, and state government.
• Produce breaking news, enterprise and trend pieces with sharp writing.
• Develop long-form stories when opportunities arise.
• Utilize multimedia storytelling across platforms, including social video and podcasts.

Skills

News reporting

Investigative reporting

Source cultivation

Multimedia storytelling

Deadline-driven

Social media use

Education

Bachelor's degree in journalism

Tools

Podcasting

Video editing

Social media

Job description

Strengthening and empowering all of the communities we serve.

NJ.com is seeking an experienced journalist to cover politics, conflict, and power struggles in New Jersey's towns, school districts, and local and state government agencies — the stories that fracture communities and hit closest to home.

The Local Politics Reporter will zero in on the politics of local flashpoints — school board fights, town hall power struggles, and the controversies that spill from one community across the entire state — and elevate them through detailed reporting, sharp writing, and engaging storytelling.

We want a dogged journalist who will find the next mob hitman-turned-councilman and the next mayor who declares war on his own town's schools. We seek a versatile reporter who can cover everything from a contentious school policy fight to a town council power struggle, with the range to step into Statehouse issues — the state budget, Gov. Mikie Sherrill's agenda — when they directly affect Jersey residents and their wallets. And we require the rare journalist who can drill down on the smallest detail but write with sweep, scale and smarts.

Coverage will include breaking news, short-term enterprise and trend pieces, but there could be opportunities for longform stories.

We're also looking for reporters who think beyond the written word. Fluency in social video storytelling, podcasts, and other multimedia formats is a plus — we want someone who can bring these stories to life across myriad platforms.

We're committed to building a newsroom that reflects the diversity of the community we serve. In this position, you will be part of a dynamic and inclusive team focused on local journalism for one of the country's largest privately owned media companies.

The pay rate for this position is $65,000 - $85,000 annually.

This job requires reliable transportation to meet with sources and cover events.

Our ideal candidate will have the following:

• A bachelor's degree in journalism, communications, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• A minimum of five years in journalism with a proven ability in reporting and writing required, preferably including experience in investigations.
• A sound understanding of newswriting, journalistic ethics, and story structure.
• Possession of a clear and engaging writing style.
• An ability to cultivate sources in government, advocacy groups, educational circles, and other demographics offering unique and visionary coverage.
• A demonstrated capability in capitalizing on high-value topics by engaging audiences in frequency and urgency.
• Proven experience building, maintaining, and engaging an active audience.
• An understanding of the methods and tools used to deliver content across a variety of platforms.
• Experience using social media to find stories and promote content.
• An ability to work independently under deadline pressure and prioritize assignments.
• An ability to work collaboratively with editors and fellow reporters.
• A willingness to keep abreast of industry advances and proactively consider new methods of reaching audiences.
• Comfort and fluency in multimedia storytelling formats — social video, podcasts, and beyond — a plus.

Additional Information

Advance Local Media offers competitive pay and a comprehensive benefits package with affordable options for your healthcare including medical, dental and vision plans, mental health support options, flexible spending accounts, fertility assistance, a competitive 401(k) plan to help plan for your future, generous paid time off, paid parental and caregiver leave and an employee assistance program to support your work/life balance, optional legal assistance, life insurance options, as well as flexible holidays to honor cultural diversity.

NJ Advance Media is a part of Advance Local Media, one of the largest media groups in the United States, which operates the leading news and information companies in more than 20 cities, reaching 52+ million people monthly with our quality, real-time journalism and community engagement. Our company is built upon the values of Integrity, Customer-first, Inclusiveness, Collaboration and Forward-looking. For more information about Advance Local, please visit www.advancelocal.com .

NJ Advance Media is a company positioned for the future. We embrace the rapidly evolving digital landscape and are committed to developing new solutions across current and emerging media to help advertisers grow their businesses. In addition to flexible advertising opportunities with powerful media vehicles that we represent, we offer custom digital solutions from web and mobile site development, to a sophisticated array of search and social media optimization and targeted display solutions to reach audiences on all platforms.

Our focus is on developing a real-time approach to reporting news, sports and entertainment content for consumption across all platforms and devices throughout New Jersey and Easton, PA. On nj.com and lehighvalleylive.com, we ensure the communities we serve have 24/7 access to the news and information that's most relevant locally, regionally and beyond. Our quality journalism and in-depth coverage is provided locally in The Star-Ledger, The Times of Trenton, South Jersey Times and The Express-Times.

Advance Local Media is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, encouraging applications from people of all backgrounds. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, or any other category protected under federal, state or local law.

If you need a reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the employment process, please contact Human Resources and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.

Advance Local Media does not provide sponsorship for work visas or employment authorization in the United States. Only candidates who are legally authorized to work in the U.S. will be considered for this position.

Advance Local Media LLC is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics. The Know Your Rights poster is available here:

The pay transparency policy is available here:

Advance Local Media LLC is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities.

If you need a reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the employment process, please contact Human Resources, and let us know the nature of your request and contact information.