We’re Hiring A Neighborhood-Obsessed Reporter To Cover Englewood, Chatham And Auburn Gresham
Block Club Chicago, a nonprofit newsroom focused on Chicago’s neighborhoods, is looking for a reporter to cover the Englewood, Chatham and Auburn Gresham neighborhoods of Chicago.
This is a beat reporting position and the beat is a trio of South Side neighborhoods. You’ll be expected to cover everything from local school council meetings and community policing efforts to restaurant openings and real estate developments. Night meetings are common, though most are being held virtually through the pandemic. This is not a 9–5 job (though it is typically Monday-Friday).
Block Club Chicago reporters are expected to build sources and contacts in the communities they cover. Plan on getting texts and emails from neighbors and becoming a well-known fixture in your neighborhood. This is a remote position (we want you to be embedded in the community), but we’ll have staff meetings in our Downtown office when COVID-19 is no longer a thing, and you’ll check in with your editor several times a day.
You’ll be expected to balance writing one or two fresh stories daily with pursuing medium-length feature stories. There will be opportunities to work on longer-form, investigative pieces, but the majority of the job is keeping your readers up to date on daily news from the neighborhood.
The Perks
Competitive salary
Full benefits (medical, dental, vision, 401k option)
3 weeks paid vacation
Ability to pitch your own stories every day and explore things that interest you
Supportive, tight-knit editorial team
Requirements
Familiarity with Englewood, Chatham or Auburn Gresham (residents or former residents of South Side neighborhoods preferred)
At least two years of reporting experience — please include news clips and not marketing or copywriting samples.
Ability to shoot your own photos in the field
Experience promoting your stories on social media
Ability to generate story ideas and willingness to hear from neighbors and readers
Experience covering community meetings or a neighborhood beat a plus!
How to Apply
Email a cover letter (the email itself can be your cover letter, just tell us why you’d be a good fit for the gig), resume and 3 or 4 of your best stories to newsroom (at) blockclubchi (dot) org along with two references. Put “Englewood Reporter Position” in the subject line, please!
Deadline for applications is March 1, 2021.
Block Club Chicago is committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to everyone regardless of race, sex, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, age, physical and mental disability and any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Block Club Chicago believes that diversity and inclusion among our staff makes us a better newsroom more able to accurately report on the neighborhoods of Chicago.
