Reporter / Assistant Editor

Express Employment Professionals - Cincinnati East; Olympia (WA); Hybrid; USD 34,000 - 45,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Monthly Health Insurance Stipend for  

Job summary

Express Employment Professionals - Cincinnati East partners with The JOLT News Organization to hire a Reporter / Assistant Editor. The role focuses on local Thurston County reporting, in-person meetings, and community engagement, with a path to lead Editor within 6–9 months based on performance.

The position emphasizes strong reporting, editing, and AP style, with possibilities for enterprise pieces and collaboration across the newsroom.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of professional reporting experience
• 1+ year of editing responsibilities including directing stories or overseeing publication
• Strong reporting, interviewing, writing, editing, and fact-checking skills
• Strong command of grammar, spelling, and AP style
• Willingness to live in Thurston County and report in person
• Experience with local government, education, courts, housing, or nonprofits is a plus
• Enterprise or investigative reporting experience is a plus
• Leadership, mentoring, or story assignment experience preferred

Responsibilities

• Report daily and breaking news, community stories, enterprise pieces, and occasional in-depth or investigative stories
• Attend local meetings and community events and conduct in-person and phone interviews
• Develop original story ideas beyond press releases and official announcements
• Build relationships and reliable sources throughout Thurston County
• Edit and fact-check stories for accuracy, fairness, clarity, and AP style
• Help plan and assign coverage and provide reporting direction
• Review headlines, captions, summaries, and social media copy
• Collaborate with The JOLT's local team and contract reporters
• Develop future beats, reporting methods, and editorial practices
• Participate in newsroom coordination while continuing to report and write

Skills

Reporting

Editing

Interviewing

AP style

Newsroom leadership

Source protection

Tools

Photography

Video

Audio

Mapping

Social media

Data visualization

Online publishing

Job description

Now Hiring: Reporter / Assistant Editor
Future Editor Track
Location: Thurston County, WA | Industry: Nonprofit Local News / Journalism
Employment Type: Full-Time | Long-Term Career Opportunity
Work Arrangement: Local / Hybrid | Regular In-Person Reporting Required
Pay: $25.00–$33.00/hr DOE | Future Editor Pay: $35.50–$38.50/hr DOE
Benefits: Monthly Health Insurance Stipend for Eligible Employees

About the Job

Express Employment Professionals is partnering with The JOLT News Organization, publisher of The Journal of Olympia, Lacey & Tumwater, to find an experienced Reporter / Assistant Editor who is interested in becoming part of the Thurston County community and growing into a newsroom leadership role.

The JOLT is an award-winning nonprofit local-news organization serving Thurston County with civic and general news published every weekday. The organization is committed to accurate, useful reporting that helps residents understand and participate in their community.

This position offers a unique career path. The successful candidate will begin as a Reporter / Assistant Editor, with the goal of transitioning into The JOLT's lead Editor role within approximately six to nine months, based on organizational needs, the current editor's retirement timeline, and demonstrated readiness.

This is not a remote reporting position. The role is centered around local, in-person journalism, including attending meetings and community events, conducting interviews, developing sources, and becoming connected to the community.

Key Responsibilities:

• Report daily and breaking news, community stories, enterprise pieces, and occasional in-depth or investigative stories
• Attend local meetings and community events and conduct in-person and phone interviews
• Develop original story ideas that go beyond press releases and official announcements
• Build relationships and reliable sources throughout Thurston County
• Edit and fact-check stories for accuracy, fairness, clarity, completeness, and AP style
• Help plan and assign coverage and provide clear reporting direction
• Review headlines, captions, summaries, and social media copy
• Collaborate with The JOLT's local team and contract reporters
• Help evaluate and develop future beats, reporting methods, media and distribution channels, and editorial practices
• Participate in newsroom coordination while continuing to actively report and write

Future Editor Opportunity:

The successful candidate is expected to transition into the lead Editor role within approximately six to nine months. As Editor, responsibilities will expand to include:

• Setting editorial priorities and assigning coverage
• Supervising, mentoring, and coaching reporters
• Overseeing newsroom workflow and publication schedules
• Maintaining editorial quality and consistency
• Working closely with the Publisher/Executive Director to support The JOLT's mission and continued growth
• Remaining actively involved in reporting and writing important local stories

What You Bring:

• At least 3 years of professional reporting experience
• At least 1 year of editing responsibilities, which may include editing staff or freelance work, assigning stories, reviewing drafts, or overseeing publication
• Strong reporting, interviewing, writing, editing, and fact-checking skills
• Strong command of grammar, spelling, and AP style
• Sound news judgment and understanding of journalistic ethics, fairness, attribution, and source protection
• Ability and willingness to live in Thurston County and regularly report in person
• Experience covering local government, education, courts, housing, business, environmental issues, nonprofits, or public agencies is a plus
• Enterprise, investigative, data, or public-records reporting experience is a plus
• Newsroom leadership, mentoring, or story assignment experience is preferred
• Experience with photography, video, audio, mapping, social media, data visualization, or online publishing is a plus
• Experience collaborating with remote employees, contractors, or contributors is helpful
• Familiarity with Thurston County or the broader South Puget Sound region is a plus

Work Arrangement & Compensation:

This position requires the employee to live in Thurston County and be regularly available for in-person reporting, interviews, community events, and newsroom collaboration.

The position may include a combination of working from home, reporting throughout the community, and meeting with the team in person or virtually.

During the Reporter / Assistant Editor transition period, the position pays $25.00–$33.00/hr DOE and is overtime eligible.

Upon promotion to Editor, the pay range increases to $35.50–$38.50/hr DOE.