WV State Government Reporter: Accountability & Impact

Mountain State Spotlight; Charleston (WV); On-site; USD 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k)

Twenty-five days paid time off

Paid parental leave

Parking and technology reimbursement

Flexible work schedule

Job summary

Mountain State Spotlight is hiring a State Government Reporter in Charleston, West Virginia. You will cover power and state government, focusing on how decisions affect families and communities, and translate budgets, bills, and court decisions into clear context for readers.

You will gather sources across the state, pursue accountability through records and data, and develop enterprise and investigative stories that examine government programs and the people impacted by them.

Qualifications

• Evidence that you can find stories others miss and ask difficult questions.
• Earn people’s trust and produce journalism that holds powerful institutions accountable.
• Ability to build sources beyond the usual political insiders.

Responsibilities

• Cover power, not just politics, and report on how decisions are made and who influences them.
• Hold state government accountable for results by following laws, programs, spending and promises.
• Explain legislation, budgets, regulations and court decisions in plain language without losing their importance.
• Follow the money using budgets, contracts, campaign-finance reports and lobbying disclosures.
• Report from communities outside the Capitol to reflect diverse experiences in West Virginia.
• Develop enterprise and investigative stories from sessions, audits, lawsuits, and agency actions.
• Help reinvent election coverage by informing readers about candidates and the stakes of elections.
• Build a beat with deep knowledge and strong sources, reporting from across the state.

Skills

Relentlessly curious

Strong news judgment

Build sources beyond insiders

Explain complex subjects clearly

Public records experience

Data, budgets and financial records

Collaborate across newsroom

Job description

Mountain State Spotlight is hiring a State Government Reporter in Charleston, West Virginia. You will cover power and state government, focusing on how decisions affect families and communities, and translate budgets, bills, and court decisions into clear context for readers.

You will gather sources across the state, pursue accountability through records and data, and develop enterprise and investigative stories that examine government programs and the people impacted by them.